comedy of errors

Idioms  

1. A complex or humorous series of events, as in Mary and John went to the Smiths', while the Smiths went to the Parkers', and the Parkers wondered why no one answered the door at John and Mary's—a true comedy of errors. The term borrows the title of Shakespeare's play, The Comedy of Errors, about two sets of twin brothers, master and slave, who are separated in infancy, and the mix-ups occurring when they arrive in the same place many years later. [c. 1600]

---

Example Sentences

What followed was a comedy of errors including military drills that outpaced anything this group of office workers had in mind, a rogue porcupine, stranded airplanes and one syringe to the butt of an employee.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

“The robot would’ve just stayed there forever if I did not cancel,” a former Silver Lake resident said in an interview on Reddit describing how a five-minute delivery turned into a comedy of errors.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 24, 2025

The result was a comedy of errors as Dillais searched for a safe landing spot, the campervan tearing down unfamiliar roads in the dark trying to keep up with him.

From Slate • Jul. 22, 2025

“He cooperated at every step even though it was an incompetent shakedown, a total comedy of errors that would make a very funny cop movie,” the source said.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 18, 2024

Eventually, my mom received a visa, and she and my dad finally got their own version of a romantic comedy of errors.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi