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Glite Dictionary
mess of wires

mess of wires

3.4
A tangled group of cables that looks untidy
  • noun
translation icon : enredo de cables
  • The technician sighed as he untangled the mess of wires behind the computer desk.
  • a tangled mess of wires

Examples

  • At times, extremely angry. " p107 Riker indicated the mess of wires and black boxes.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Isabel, Hilary, and another protester try to plug the tangled mess of wires back into the audio board.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • BROWNSTONE - DAY ERNIE (70's), a rickety Black man in work boots, looks baffled by a tangled mess of wires protruding from a wall.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • After hours of work, the mess of wires finally seemed organized and easy to manage.

  • She discovered a mess of wires in the attic, making it difficult to find the power source.

Synonyms

mess
vsmess of wires
∞ 1.0

A situation in which things are untidy and confused

is specific to tangled cords or cables rather than general untidiness
tangle
vsmess of wires
13 5.5

A confused situation that is hard to understand or solve

refers specifically to knotted cords or cables rather than a general mixed mass

Surface Forms

mess of wires singular
messes of wires plural

Morphology

mess + of + wire

The meaning 'a disorganized or tangled collection of wires' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'mess' (clutter/disorder) with 'of' and 'wires' (plural of wire). This simple noun-of-noun compositional pattern is cross-linguistically common and follows ordinary semantics, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will readily understand it.

Etymology

The noun mess of wires comes from the simple image of many wires twisted and tangled together, with mess showing they are untidy. So the phrase means 'a disorganized or tangled collection of wires'.