I was taken to the wolves

I don’t make these up, folks.  This wonderful malaphor is a mash up of “thrown to the wolves” (put someone in a situation where there is nothing to protect them) and “taken to the cleaners” (swindle someone).  The words “taken” and “thrown”, both verbs and both starting with a “t”, may have been the root of the confusion.   This mix up was said by Jon Hein, creator of the Jump the Shark website (now part of tvguide.com) and host of The Wrap Up Show on the Howard Stern channel on Sirius XM satellite radio.  He was referring to a time that he was put in a compromising position.   Interestingly, Jon Hein grew up in Pittsburgh (Mt. Lebanon).  A fellow Pittsburgher and senior malaphor reporter, Mike Kovacs, heard this one and messaged it in.   Thanks again, Mike!