at cross purposes
US /æt krɔs ˈpɜrpəsɪz/
UK /æt krɔs ˈpɜrpəsɪz/
1.
aneinander vorbeireden, unterschiedliche Ziele verfolgen
if two people are at cross purposes, they think that they are talking about the same thing but are in fact talking about different things, with the result that they do not understand each other
:
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I think we're talking at cross purposes; I meant next Tuesday, not this Tuesday.
Ich glaube, wir reden aneinander vorbei; ich meinte nächsten Dienstag, nicht diesen Dienstag.
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The two departments were constantly at cross purposes, leading to inefficiencies.
Die beiden Abteilungen arbeiteten ständig aneinander vorbei, was zu Ineffizienzen führte.