idiom / phrasal verb · neutral
get the wrong end of the stick
UK/ɡet ðə rɒŋ end əv ðə stɪk/US/ɡet ðə rɔːŋ end əv ðə stɪk/get the WRONG end of the STICK
to misunderstand a situation or someone's meaning
Examples
“I think you've got the wrong end of the stick — she meant it as a joke.”
“He got the wrong end of the stick about the deadline and submitted late.”
“Don't get the wrong end of the stick; she wasn't criticising you.”
Band 8 sentence
“At first I thought she was angry, but I soon realised I had got the wrong end of the stick.”
Collocations
- get the wrong end of the stick about
- not get the wrong end of the stick
Word family
Common mistakes
You got the wrong side of the stick.→You got the wrong end of the stick.
I misunderstand you the wrong end.→I got the wrong end of the stick.
Say it for a higher band
5misunderstand→6get the picture→7+get the wrong end of the stick
Synonyms
misunderstand
take the wrong way
Easily confused
get the picture
“Do you get the picture of what we need to change?”
Related words
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