Question

in_the_loop_295 to malfunction; to break down Similar to: at the end of (one’s) rope; go bananas; at (one’s) wits’ end; go to pieces.

Accepted Answer

GO HAYWIRE The robot worked fine until it tried to maneuver around the corner and went haywire. Its arms started to spin around, its head fell off, and it started shooting sparks out of its control panel.When the man heard that his doctor’s appointment was cancelled, he went haywire. He shouted that he would never go to the doctor again, and left. Go haywire is generally applied to machines, whereas go bananas is more humorous and is restricted to people.

Id	in_the_loop_295
Idiom	GO HAYWIRE
Definition	to malfunction; to break down
Examples	The robot worked fine until it tried to maneuver around the corner and went haywire. Its arms started to spin around, its head fell off, and it started shooting sparks out of its control panel. When the man heard that his doctor’s appointment was cancelled, he went haywire. He shouted that he would never go to the doctor again, and left.
Cross-Refs	Similar to: at the end of (one’s) rope; go bananas; at (one’s) wits’ end; go to pieces.
Extra Info	Go haywire is generally applied to machines, whereas go bananas is more humorous and is restricted to people.

Haywire Started One’s Loop Malfunction Break Robot Worked