idioms using “cross”

A cross to bear

A responsibility one must tolerate

“Makoto-san insisted on working alone, so meeting this deadline is a cross he will have to bear.”

Get one’s wires crossed

To confuse the meaning of someone’s words

“Sugiyama-san got her wires crossed; the meeting is scheduled for Wednesday at noon, not Thursday at 3:00 pm.”

Caught in the crossfire

To get caught in the middle innocently when two other parties are arguing

“The yen is strengthening and the dollar is weakening and Japanese exporters are getting caught in the crossfire.”

Cross the line

To behave inappropriately, to go too far

“Hayashi-san was allowed to charge lavish meals to the company, but he crossed the line when he put his new skis on his expense account.”

At cross-purposes

To have opposite intentions or goals

“Sakurai-san and Goto-san were at cross-purposes in their medical research until they sat down and discussed how to cooperate with each other.”