You run a hard ship

This subtle malaphor is a mash up of “you run a tight ship” (run an organization with discipline and order) and “you drive a hard bargain” (work hard to negotiate a price).  The speaker meant to say “you run a tight ship”.  The crossed wires might stem from the words “hard” and “tight”, or perhaps with “run” and “drive”, both action verbs.  The words “hard” and “ship” together might also be in play.  Thanks to Kevin Hatfield for passing this one along (and thanks to Ben Geier’s friend for saying it!).