I must have been out in left space
Posted: February 22, 2013 Filed under: spaced | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, out in left field, spaced out, words 4 CommentsThis is a mash up of “out in left field” (offbeat or unusual) and “spaced out” (disoriented). Sounds like something Eva Gabor would have said on Green Acres. A big thanks to John for sending this one in!
Malaphors 
Made me curious about the origin of “out in left field,” which is obviously a baseball reference but it’s not clear where it would have started. Right field sees less action (because most hitters are right handed and more likely the ball to their left) so if anything I might have expected that. But this guy has some ideas:
http://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2009/01/out-in-left-field.html
The most plausible to me is that it’s very hard to throw someone out at first from left field, so when it happens it’s unusual. He writes that off too quickly, saying “but why not right field to third?” Because that’s a much less common situation in the first place, is the answer. But they’re both pretty uncommon. Hmm, now I’m not sure at all.
Could it be that left field was usually larger and therefore more isolated and also farther from home in older parks?
Maybe they put the crazy people out in left?
I’m thinking that the speaker was referring to the Delta Quadrant, so well explored by Star Trek: Voyager.