You may want to take your foot off the throat a little bit

A faculty member was cautioning a student who was putting together a very aggressive class schedule and uttered this malaphor, although it might be a malaprop.  I think it is a congruent conflation of  “put your foot on the gas”  and “going full throttle”, both meaning to move very quickly.  “Throat” is perhaps a malaprop of “throttle” in this instance.  “Ram something down someone’s throat” (to force something upon someone) might be in the mix considering it was spoken in the academic world.  “Put (one’s) foot in (one’s) mouth” (to say something foolish or embarrassing) might also be in play, as the throat is certainly in the mouth.  A big thanks to Lou Pugliese who heard this one and passed it  on!