zig when (one) should zag

zig when (one) should zag

1. To move in a particular direction when one should move in a different direction in order to avoid some obstacle or impediment. A reference to moving from side to side in a zigzag pattern. Oof, the running back just got walloped by the linebacker. He zigged when he should have zagged! Be careful trying to beat the final boss—if you zig when you should zag, you'll fall off the platform and die.

2. By extension, to act in a way that results in a worse outcome than if one had done something different. Their CEO tends to zig when he should zag, making inflammatory comments rather than taking responsibility for the company's wrongdoing. You need to attack your opponent's political policies, not keep focusing so much on taxes—you're zigging when you should be zagging!

See also: should, zag, zig

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

zigged when one should've zagged

perfomed one deed when another deed would have been better; to do something inconsequentially different from another thing. I don't know why she complained. I guess I zigged when I should have zagged.

See also: one, zag, zig

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

zagged

mod. alcohol intoxicated. How can anybody get so zagged on three beers?

See also: zag

McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.