misshift

English

Etymology

mis- +‎ shift

Verb

misshift (third-person singular simple present misshifts, present participle misshifting, simple past and past participle misshifted)

1. To change gears incorrectly, such as switching into the wrong gear or ending up in a state when the vehicle is not in gear.
   • 1989, Trial Lawyers Quarterly - Volume 20, page 13:

     His expert testimony indicated that it would have been technologically feasible and economically viable to install a warning system, at a cost of between $20 to $50, that would cause a horn to go off and a light to flash on the shift indicator if the driver should misshift the vehicle or begin to leave it when the gear shift was not latched in park.

   • 1990, Joe Kita, Bicycling Magazine's New Bike Owner's Guide, page 28:

     If you wait until later, your drivetrain is liable to misshift under the hard pedaling load.

   • 1996, Dave King, Michael Kaminer, The Mountain Bike Experience:

     This skill takes a while to develop, and even the best riders misshift from time to time, but with time shifting becomes second nature.

2. To change direction, location, or form incorrectly.
   • 1992, Stanford Exploration Project - Issue 73, page 195:

     After checking the original data, we found that this trace was misshifted in the original gather.

   • 2010, Fresno Scifi, Fantasy Writers, I Dreamed a Crooked Dream, page 198:

     "You misshifted?” He takes several deep breaths. “Into what?” “A panther,” I whisper down into my plate.

   • 2022, Francisco Rebelo, Ergonomics in Design, page 515:

     By using this as a cue, it is thought that their sense of direction was less likely to misshift.

Noun

misshift (plural misshifts)

1. An instance of misshifting (either sense).
   • 2004, João Agria Torres, EUREF Publication No. 13, page 144:

     So, the eventual coordinate misshift should not be significant.

   • 2006, Marla Streb, Bicycling Magazine's Century Training Program, page 176:

     A misshift or a dropped chain can really ruin your cadence and momentum.

   • 2008, Chris Lemmon, A Twist of Lemmon: A Tribute to My Father:

     Four misshifts and a throttle burp later, I couldn't stand it anymore, and made him surrender control of the vehicle.

   • 2009, Francisco J. Ricardo, Literary Art in Digital Performance, page 182:

     These hyperliterary historical misshifts centered in the superheated technological and cultural engine of the US-centric English-speaking imperium.