I. ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ noun
Etymology: hay (II) + wire
: wire used to bind bales (as of hay or straw)
II. adjective
Etymology: so called from the frequent use of baling wire to make makeshift repairs
1.
a. : inadequately equipped
a haywire outfit
: flimsy
b. : put together inexpensively or patched up tentatively from available odds and ends : jury-rigged
a haywire plant hurriedly built of secondhand tank cars and salvaged equipment — Monsanto Magazine
2.
a. : being out of order : broken-down
luckily for us, their range-finding and director gear must have been haywire … so her fire wasn't very accurate — Outspan
b. : tangled up : mixed up : not running or working normally : acting in an odd way
a haywire train that came and went at the worst possible hours — New York Herald Tribune Book Review
haywire development of western industrial culture — Marston Bates
— often used in the predicate with go
magnetic compasses won't work, radios go haywire , and ordinary engine oil freezes — All Hands
psychologists have gone so haywire with this new freedom that many interpretations are wild and bizarre — P.M.Symonds
3. : emotionally excited : gone to pieces : upset
she's pretty much haywire just now, but she'll have settled down by the time you get here — Mary R. Rinehart
— often used with go
went completely haywire and in one mad, exotic moment she bought the red pocketbook — Mary D. Gillies
many boxing champions have gone haywire after winning a title — D.M.Daniel
the danger that men in responsible executive positions might go haywire — Elmer Davis
III. noun
Etymology: haywire (I) ; from the appearance of the leaves
: a sporadic disease of potatoes that is of unknown cause but considered by some to be due to a virus or viruses but by others to be due to unfavorable conditions during tuber development and that is characterized by the production of dwarfed plants with elongated stiff sometimes rolled leaves which finally turn yellow with purplish discoloration especially at the tips and margins