错 began as metalworking: inlaying gold into bronze — 错金 — where different metals cross and interleave. Crossing became crisscrossing became things going crosswise: the modern 'wrong' is metal threads that went where they shouldn't.
不错 'not wrong' is the understated Chinese way to say 'pretty good' — high praise wearing modest clothes. 错过 'to cross past' means missing what you should have met: trains, deadlines, people. The saddest 错 is the one in 错过.
Gold inlay 钅 gone crosswise — a beautiful MISTAKE.
错错错 — Lu You's triple 'wrong' in his famous wall poem 钗头凤 — may be Chinese literature's most devastating three characters: a divorce he was forced into, regretted in ink.