take a wrong turn at Albuquerque
To take a wrong turn or miss a turn in a journey, so reaching a place distant from the original goal.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“I took a wrong turn at Albuquerque and got lost.”
“You take a wrong turn at Albuquerque if you follow those old signs.”
“He takes a wrong turn at Albuquerque every time he visits this park.”
“We missed the exit and took a wrong turn at Albuquerque, so we arrived an hour late.”
“I followed the GPS blindly and took a wrong turn at Albuquerque, ending up in a quiet residential neighborhood instead of the airport.”
“The delivery driver took a wrong turn at Albuquerque and accidentally brought our pizza to a house three streets away.”
“After misreading the map, they took a wrong turn at Albuquerque and found themselves driving through a remote desert instead of reaching the city.”
first recorded 20th c.
The phrase originates in the 1945 animated film Herr Meets Hare. It was subsequently established as a recurring motif in several Bugs Bunny cartoons, typically delivered when the protagonist emerged from a burrow to find himself in an unintended, often perilous, geography.
- 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.
- 02
be taken ill
To become ill.
- 03
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.
- 04
cross to take up
Alternative form of cross to bear.
- 05
do somebody wrong
To treat someone badly or unfairly.
- 06
everything one touches turns to gold
Everything someone uses or does succeeds or becomes better.
- 07
everything one touches turns to shit
Everything someone uses or does fails or becomes worse.
- 08
fall into the wrong hands
To become the possession of, or be discovered by, an unfriendly third party.
Last updated August 10, 2026