If a person Gets Hold Of The Wrong End Of The Stick they misunderstand something completely and misinterpret a situation. The phrase goes all the way back at least to the 1400s when it was"the worse end of the staff" (or lance). The wording changed during the 19th century. It has been suggested that it dates back to Roman times and the Romans' use of communal toilets in which people sat side by side. The Romans used a short staff with a sponge tied to one end to clean themselves and of course everybody took great care not to get hold of the wrong end when reaching out to use it!