take a wrong turn at Albuquerquenoun · 1945
Well attestedBugs Bunny travels by tunnel, so one missed turn under New Mexico explains every wrong country he surfaces in.
The line comes from the Warner Brothers cartoon Herr Meets Hare (1945), in which Bugs burrows to Germany and says he knew he should have taken that left turn at Albuquerque. Writers reused it in later shorts until it became a standing joke, and it now appears in ordinary speech with either left or wrong. Albuquerque was a real decision point for cross-country drivers on Route 66.
Named from the placeRead →