The phones have been ringing off the wall!
Posted: July 24, 2012 Filed under: ACTION, THINGS | Tags: expression, malaphor, mixed idiom, phones, words 3 CommentsI heard this one on tv during a PBS fundraiser several years ago. As with any good malaphor, I had to write it down immediately or I would have forgotten it. This is a combination of “ringing off the hook” and “off the wall”. It probably was said by someone my age or older, people who grew up with landline phones and where at least one phone was on the wall, usually the kitchen. The phones at that telethon were not on the wall, however.
Malaphors 
well, since there is such a thing as a wallphone (at least there used to be), methinks this is not as ‘mal’ as other malaphors..
True dat. That’s why I said in my post that the older generations (me and you?) might not find this one as “mixed-up”. Maybe semimalaphor? 🙂
Live television: always a good source.