noun
[ pl. ] if two people are at cross purposes , they do not understand each other because they are talking about or aiming at different things, without realizing it :
I think we're talking at cross purposes; that's not what I meant at all.
noun
[ pl. ] if two people are at cross purposes , they do not understand each other because they are talking about or aiming at different things, without realizing it :
I think we're talking at cross purposes; that's not what I meant at all.
Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary. Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне. 2005