To break down or cease to function properly: “Everything was going smoothly until the computer started to go haywire.”
Slang definitions & phrases for go haywire
go haywire
verb phrase
To become inoperative; break down unexpectedly; go blooey: This radio's gone haywire
To go crazy; become confused and disoriented: Remember that I tried to talk you out of it, and don't go haywire
[1929+; fr the ramshackle condition of something that must be hastily repaired with haywire]
Idioms and Phrases with go haywire
go haywire
Become wildly confused, out of control, or crazy. For example, The plans for the party have gone haywire, or His enemies accused the mayor of going haywire. This term alludes to the wire used for bundling hay, which is hard to handle and readily tangled. [ First half of 1900s ]