go wrong

go wrong idiom
  1. Go astray, make a mistake. For example, We made a left turn and somehow went wrong from then on, or You won't go wrong if you follow the directions in the dress pattern. [c. 1300]
  2. Take to evil ways, become a criminal, as in As soon as he turned thirteen, Billy fell in with a gang and began to go wrong. [c. 1500]
  3. Fail, turn out badly, as in Everything about this party has gone wrong. [Late 1500s]
  4. Fail to work properly, as in The car starts fine, but as soon as you put it in gear, the transmission goes wrong. [Late 1800s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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