ENGLISH
REFERENCE

take a wrong turn at Albuquerque

idiom
Meaning

To take a wrong turn or miss a turn in a journey, so reaching a place distant from the original goal.


Origin

first recorded 20th c.

From the 1945 film Herr Meets Hare, often repeated in several Bugs Bunny cartoons afterwards.

Examples
SIMPLE

I took a wrong turn at Albuquerque and got lost.

CONTEXTUAL

We missed the exit and took a wrong turn at Albuquerque, so we arrived an hour late.

COMPLEX

After misreading the map, they took a wrong turn at Albuquerque and found themselves driving through a remote desert instead of reaching the city.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    bark up the wrong tree

    To take the wrong approach to a situation; to follow a false lead; to attempt to solve a problem using mistaken assumptions about its true nature.

  2. 02

    Buggins's turn

    A humorous, disparaging term for the appointment of a person by rotation or promotion, on the basis of length of service (it being that person's "turn") rather than merit or level of qualification.

  3. 03

    cross to take up

    Alternative form of cross to bear.

  4. 04

    do somebody wrong

    To treat someone badly or unfairly.

  5. 05

    fall into the wrong hands

    To become the possession of, or be discovered by, an unfriendly third party.

  6. 06

    forget to take one's medication this morning

    To be annoyed or irritable, or to behave in an ill-mannered way, particularly in the morning.

  7. 07

    get into the wrong hands

    To fall into the wrong hands.

  8. 08

    get out of bed on the wrong side

    To start the day in a bad mood for no apparent reason.

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