Crossword Genius

Crazy stuff that constrains Bale (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

haywire

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'crazy' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'stuff that constrains bale' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'bale' could be 'hay' (hay bale is a kind of bale) and 'hay' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'wire' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for haywire that I've seen before include "Not working properly" , "All over the shop" , "Erratic (colloq.)" , "Malfunctioning badly" , "nuts" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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