If he doesn’t pass the mustard, then we aren’t promoting him

Sharing must be a really big deal at this company.  I understand not passing ketchup is grounds for dismissal. Actually, this gem was uttered when discussing an internal candidate who applied for a promotion: “We can interview him, but if he doesn’t pass the mustard, then we aren’t promoting him.”  This is a congruent conflation of “cut the mustard” and “pass muster”, both meaning to perform satisfactorily. At first this just appeared to be a malaprop (misusing a word, generally similar in sound) – mustard for muster – but on closer inspection it indeed is a mash up of two idioms, hence a very nice malaphor.  A big thanks to Tiffany G. for hearing this one and passing it (and the condiment) on!

Did you like this one?  I sure did, and you can find a ton of other fun malaphors just like this one in my latest book, He Smokes Like a Fish and other Malaphors, available on Amazon at  http://www.amazon.com/dp/0692652205!