That’s a tough crowd to follow
Posted: March 16, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: clichesgonewild, expressions, follow the crowd, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, tough act to follow, words 1 CommentThis is a mashup of “a tough act to follow” (a difficult performance or presentation after a successful one by someone else) and “follow the crowd” (do what everyone else is doing). The word “follow” seems to be the culprit in this mix up as it appears in both idioms. As John Polk, the submitter said, “crowds are easy to follow, until they turn into a mob.” Truer words were never spoken. A big thanks to “Cliches Gone Wild” John Polk for sending this one in! His logo for his twitter account @clichesgonewild appears below.
They’re right on my coattails
Posted: March 15, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Centre Daily Times Press, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, Penn State hockey, riding on his coattails, right on my tail, words Leave a commentThis is a nice, subtle malaphor. It was spoken by Penn State hockey player David Goodwin. “The thing is, with records like that, yeah I might catch him, but guys like Andrew Sturtz (39 goals) and (Chase) Berger and Denis (Smirnov), they’re right on my coat tails.” http://ireader.olivesoftware.com/Olive/iReader/CentreDailyTimesPress/SharedArticle.ashx?document=CDTM%5C2017%5C03%5C07&article=Ar00901
This is a mix of “right on my tail” (following someone closely) and “riding (on) the coattails of (someone)” (to benefit from someone else’s success). The causes for the confusion? Right and ride sound similar, and both expressions have the word “tail”. A hat tip to Martin Pietrucha for seeing this one and sending it in!
I’m doing this on a whim and a prayer
Posted: March 14, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, on a whim, on a wing and a prayer, onawhimandaprayer.com, words Leave a commentA person posted that she was quitting her job somewhat impulsively. She doesn’t have a new job lined up, so it’s a little bit scary. She wrote, “I’m doing this on a whim and a prayer.” This is a nice mashup of “on a whim” (sudden, impulsive urge) and “on a wing and a prayer” (hoping you will succeed even though you have not prepared for it). The mix up undoubtedly was caused by the words “on a” that are in both idioms. The expressions combined describe what the speaker was trying to convey – an impulsive move with a hope that it works out well. A big thanks to Monica Bafetti for spotting this one and Sally Adler for sending it here! As Sally points out, this malaphor is really more meaningful than the original in this age. And check out the blog onawhimandaprayer.com about two Irishmen who logged in 35,000 kilometers on motorbikes to raise money for Make-A-Wish!
We should be at the top of the pack
Posted: March 13, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: cnn, Donald Trump, expressions, humor, language, leader of the pack, malaphor, malaphors, top of the heap, words Leave a commenthttp://www.amazon.com/dp/0692652205
Just out of kicks….
Posted: March 12, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, just for kick, Kix, language, malaphor, malaphors, out of curiosity, words Leave a commentThis one was actually unintentionally uttered by Chief Malaphor Hunter Mike Kovacs, and heard and submitted by his son Anthony. It is a subtle mashup of “just out of curiosity” (asking an off topic question wanting to know the answer) and “just for kicks” (for the fun or thrill of it). on the other hand, maybe Mike was actually saying he was out of the breakfast cereal Kix, or his music supply of Kix, the 80s rock band? A big thanks to Anthony Kovacs for hearing this one and sending it in.
I’m afraid that he’s jumping into the frying pan with both feet
Posted: March 10, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Donald Trump, expressions, humor, jump in with both feet, jumping to conclusions, language, malaphor, malaphors, out of the frying pan and into the fire, Washington Post, words Leave a comment“He’s got a lot of controversial stuff going on and rather than thinking it through, I’m afraid that he’s jumping into the frying pan with both feet.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/these-iowans-voted-for-trump-many-of-them-are-already-disappointed/2017/02/26/18f86b86-fa8d-11e6-be05-1a3817ac21a5_story.html?utm_term=.6d88c9bfc441. This is a mashup of “out of the frying pan and into the fire” (from a bad situation to a worse situation) and “jump in with both feet” (to become involved quickly and completely). “Jumping to conclusions” (to decide something without having all the facts) was also on the speaker’s mind, I think. It is an excellent mixed idiom, as the two combined mean to get into a bad situation quickly, which is what the speaker I believe was thinking. And the mental image of one jumping into a hot frying pan with both feet certainly would create a bad situation! Kudos to Linda Bernstein and Barry Eigen for spotting this one and sending it in!
My mood swings can change at a flip of a dime
Posted: March 9, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, flip flop, flip of a coin, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, turn on a dime, words Leave a commentA person was discussing his mood swings. This is a nice congruent conflation of “flip-flop” and “turn on a dime”, both meaning to change direction quickly. “Flip (or toss) of a coin” (randomly) might also be in the mix given the words “of a”, and the mental image of someone flipping a dime might have entered in the speaker’s head. As I have mentioned in previous posts, dimes seem to show up a lot in malaphors, possibly due to their use in various expressions – “turn on a dime, “stop on a dime”, “dropped the dime”, “get off the dime”, “nickel and dimed”, etc. Some previous posts include “I fall asleep at the drop of a dime” (https://malaphors.com/2014/06/26/i-fall-asleep-at-the-drop-of-a-dime/) and “you had to figure out what to do on a dime’s notice” (https://malaphors.com/2014/05/20/you-had-to-figure-out-what-you-were-going-to-do-on-a-dimes-notice/). A tip of the toque to Martha Fenimore for hearing this one and sending it in!
She’s older than sliced bread
Posted: March 7, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: best thing since sliced bread, Betty White, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, older than dirt, words 1 CommentThis beauty was uttered by the contributor’s daughter. It is a mash up of “the greatest thing since sliced bread” (an excellent new invention) and I believe “older than dirt” (really old). Certainly sliced bread, when allowed to sit for awhile, gets old and moldy so I can see where the speaker may have conjured up that image when thinking of a really old person. Interestingly, this mixed idiom has been used to describe America’s sweetheart, Betty White. See picture below. A big thanks to Ron McDonald for hearing this one and sending it on!
I hear both ends of the coin
Posted: March 6, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: both sides of the same coin, both sides of the story, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, words 1 CommentThis great malaphor was heard on Chicago’s public radio station, WBEZ. You can hear it here at around 5min 25sec: https://www.wbez.org/?utm_source=link&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=Web-Share&replayer_show_id=17b65e7d-75ab-46fd-8603-58a8a2ac1ae5. It is a mashup of “two sides of the same coin” (different but closely related features of one idea) and “hear both sides of the story” (listen impartially and to different views). Sides and ends are mixed up for this speaker. A tip of the toque to Peter Hopkins for hearing this one and sending it in!
I have no horse in this fight
Posted: March 4, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, horses, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, no dog in the hunt, no dog in this fight, no horse in this race, words Leave a commentThis is a perfectly formed malaphor, combining similar meaning and sounding expressions. It was said in a meeting when asked to resolve a disagreement. It is a congruent conflation of “no horse in this race” and “no dog in this fight”, both meaning to not have an investment in the outcome of something. “No dog in this hunt” is another similar expression. Horses and dogs can get confusing, particularly when they are fighting. Speaking of horses, they are often the subject of malaphors. Why? Horses are used in many idioms, it seems. The Idiom Dictionary (part of the Free Dictionary) lists over 150 of them. If you type in “horse” on this website, you will find at least 10 malaphors involving horses, including such beauties (black?) as “I’m cursing like a race horse”, “Now that’s a horse of a different story”, “You can’t beat that with a dead horse”, and “Hold your horses on”. There must be a lot of naysayers out there. A big thanks to John Polk for hearing this one and passing it on! Check out John’s great Twitter feed- @Clichesgonewild.
Want to see more horse (and elephant) malaphors? Check out my book “He Smokes Like a Fish and other Malaphors” available on Amazon for a mere 6.99!!
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