I missed the train because I was mistaken about the time of my train. In this case, should I say, “I got mixed up with the times.” or “I got the times mixed up. Another example is that I mistook X from Y. They are two people. In this case, which sentence is correct, “I got mixed up about X and Y.” or “I got X mixed up with Y.”?
Answer
Get A and B mixed up
means to confuse A with B. It requires at least two terms, whose identities you transpose in some important respect, thinking that A is B and B is A. For instanceI get Abbott and Costello mixed up.
This means you can’t remember which is the short one and which the tall one.
In your second example, where you mistook X for Y, you want to use “I got X and Y mixed up”.
Get mixed up about X means to be in a state of confusion about X. It requires only one term. You may say that you get mixed up about A and B, but in this case “A and B” is a single topic involving both A and B.
I get mixed up about Abbott and Costello.
This means that there is something you don’t understand about the famous comedy team—perhaps whether they came before or after Gallagher and Shean.
In the case of “I missed the train because I was mistaken about the time of my train”, there is only time involved, so you want to say “I got mixed up about”.
Attribution
Source : Link , Question Author : tennis girl , Answer Author : StoneyB on hiatus
