on the wrong track
Progressing in a way that will likely fail or be unsuccessful. All of these protestors think that we're really on the wrong track with this new environmental initiative. Considering all of our failed experiments, our team must have gotten on the wrong track.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
on the wrong track
1. Lit. [of a train] following the wrong set of tracks. We had to back up, because somehow we got on the wrong track.
2. Fig. going the wrong way; following the wrong set of assumptions. You'll never get the right answer. You're on the wrong track. They won't get it figured out because they are on the wrong track.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
on the wrong track
COMMON If someone or something is on the wrong track, they are acting or developing in a way that is likely to result in failure. Do you think the country is going in the right direction or is it headed on the wrong track? The standard of careers advice given to school-leavers is generally terrible, setting us off on the wrong track from the start.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012