at cross purposes
US /æt krɔs ˈpɜrpəsɪz/
UK /æt krɔs ˈpɜrpəsɪz/
1.
con propósitos cruzados, no entenderse
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.
Creo que estamos hablando con propósitos cruzados; me refería al próximo martes, no a este martes.
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The two departments were constantly at cross purposes, leading to inefficiencies.
Los dos departamentos estaban constantemente con propósitos cruzados, lo que llevaba a ineficiencias.