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Glite Dictionary
to zig when he should zag

to zig when he should zag

9.9
To make the wrong choice when a different action is needed
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : tomar la decisión equivocada
  • He always zigs when he should zag in negotiations.

Examples

  • The company's new CEO seemed to zig when he should zag during the merger talks.

  • Sometimes in life, we all zig when we should zag and learn from it.

  • Every time he faced an important decision, he would zig when he should zag.

  • Don't zig when he should zag during the presentation!

  • Every time he faced an important decision, he would zig when he should zag.

  • Sometimes in life, we all zig when we should zag and learn from our mistakes.

  • The company's new CEO seemed to zig when he should zag during the crucial merger discussions.

Synonyms

to take a wrong turn
vsto zig when he should zag
  • Informal
20 3.9

Choosing the wrong direction or decision causes trouble

focuses on choosing the opposite of what situation needs
to bungle
vsto zig when he should zag
16 6.8

To do something clumsily so it causes mistakes

involves making a wrong choice, not just clumsy execution
to blunder
vsto zig when he should zag
5 4.8

To move in a clumsy, confused way without clear direction

is about a wrong deliberate choice, not merely clumsy movement
to go off half-cocked
vsto zig when he should zag
  • Informal
4 8.1

To act or speak without thinking first and cause problems

is about choosing the wrong option rather than mere thoughtlessness
to zig when someone should zag
vsto zig when he should zag
  • Informal
9.9

To do the wrong thing when a different action is needed

has identical meaning but uses a different pronoun or perspective

How Wrong

to blunder
7 4.4
to zig when he should zag
  • Informal
9.9
to mistake
37 1.0
to err
50 5.5

Surface Forms

zig when he should zag infinitive

Morphology

zig + when + he + should + zag

The expression maps the literal opposite movements 'zig' and 'zag' onto decision-making, so a learner who knows the verbs and 'should' can plausibly infer it means to make the opposite or wrong move. However, this is a figurative use dependent on the conventional contrast between zig and zag rather than a straightforward compositional meaning, so understanding is likely but not fully predictable without exposure.

Etymology

Zig when he should zag comes from the idea of a zigzag path: a zig goes one way and a zag goes the other. If you zig when you should zag, you go the wrong way, so it means 'to make the wrong move or choice'.