Wrong End Of The Stick

What exactly is the wrong end of the stick? A misunderstanding? Having the facts wrong? Or simply being mistaken? Perhaps the problem isn't that you've grabbed hold of the wrong end of the stick, it's that you can't keep hold of it. You seem to be dealing with a particularly slippery stick right now, which isn't behaving as you'd like. Just when you think you know what to do with it, it changes into something else. However you are adaptable and determined. Even if it turns out that you have your stick by the wrong end, it's a helpful tool that you can use to your advantage. Stop worrying about whether you're doing the right thing. You are! The origin pertains to walking sticks and accidentally grabbing the dirty, non-handled end, the "wrong end." OK, maybe. But ask yourself this, if you somehow had a stick that was clotted with dirt on one end, and with the turds of a dozen Romans on the other, which would truly be the "wrong" end? Exactly.