get the wrong end of the stick

phraseB2Not compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

To get the wrong end of the stick is to misunderstand what somebody meant. You have the wrong end of the stick.

It is a gentle way of saying somebody is wrong, since it blames the explanation as much as the listener. People get the wrong end of the stick most in writing, where there is no tone.

Definitions of get the wrong end of the stick

1phraseget the wrong end of the stickTo misunderstand what somebody meant.B2
“He would get the wrong end of the stick and act on it within the hour.”

get the wrong end of the stick is a phrase.

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get the wrong end of the stick

phraseB2Not compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

To get the wrong end of the stick is to misunderstand what somebody meant. You have the wrong end of the stick.

It is a gentle way of saying somebody is wrong, since it blames the explanation as much as the listener. People get the wrong end of the stick most in writing, where there is no tone.

Definitions of get the wrong end of the stick

1phraseget the wrong end of the stickTo misunderstand what somebody meant.B2
“He would get the wrong end of the stick and act on it within the hour.”

get the wrong end of the stick is a phrase.

Practised in Idioms

Practise this word