idiom · neutral
get the wrong end of the stick
UK/ɡet ðə rɒŋ ˈɛnd əv ðə stɪk/US/ɡɛt ðə rɔŋ ˈɛnd əv ðə stɪk/get·the·WRONG·end·of·the·STICK
to misunderstand what someone has said or meant
Examples
“I think you got the wrong end of the stick — she was talking about her job, not you.”
“He got the wrong end of the stick and apologised as soon as we cleared it up.”
“During the meeting I got the wrong end of the stick and missed the real point.”
Band 8 sentence
“I must have got the wrong end of the stick in the seminar, because everyone else reacted to a different point.”
Collocations
- get the wrong end of the stick about
- completely/get totally the wrong end of the stick
Word family
Common mistakes
get wrong end of stick→get the wrong end of the stick
I misunderstand her→I got the wrong end of the stick
Say it for a higher band
5misunderstand→6get the wrong idea→7+get the wrong end of the stick
Synonyms
misunderstand
Easily confused
get the wrong idea
“Don't get the wrong idea — he was only being polite.”
Related words
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