What is the origin of “Get a hold of the short/wrong end of the stick”? [duplicate]
Solution 1:
According to The Phrase Finder, the two share the same origin, not really diverging in meaning until 1850 or so.
Solution 2:
Before toilet paper and Sears catalogs, there was a wooden spatula called the stick. If you were in the outhouse after dark and you had to find the stick in the dark, you had a good chance of finding the wrong, dirty, shitty end of the stick. Not everyone could afford candles or lanterns, and sometimes the wind would blow them out anyway.