Negotiating with Trump is like trying to talk to Jello
Posted: January 11, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: cnn, humor, idioms, language, malaphor, nail jello to the wall, Richard Blumenthal, talking to a wall, Trump, wordplay, words Leave a commentSenator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) uttered this gem on CNN January 4, 2019. The context is regarding the recent Government shutdown over Trump’s proposed wall. This is a conflation of “like talking to a wall” (a futile conversation because the other party is not listening) and “like nailing Jello to a wall” (a futile attempt at something). Both idioms contain the word “wall” (appropriate in context, right?) and both concern something that is futile (a conversation or an attempt). A hat tip to Tom Justice for hearing this one!
Top of the crop
Posted: January 10, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: cream of the crop, expressions, humor, Illy, malaphor, top notch, top of the heap, wordplay, words Leave a commentThis gem was seen on the sleeve of an Illy cup of coffee (see picture below). While it may not be unintentional (Illy is an Italian coffee company, so who knows?) it was too good to pass up. It is a conflation of “top of the heap” and “cream of the crop”, both meaning superior to others or the very best. This one is similar to a malaphor posted a few years ago, “He is the top of the notch”. https://malaphors.com/2012/12/11/he-is-the-top-of-the-notch/
A big thanks to Steve Grieme for spotting this one in sunny St. Petersburg, Florida, and taking a picture of it!
The guardrails are coming off
Posted: January 9, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: cnn, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, off the rails, Trump, wheels are coming off, wordplay, words 2 Comments
Nothing to shake a home about
Posted: January 7, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, idioms, Joe Theismann, malaphor, malaphors, nothing to shake a stick at, nothing to write home about, Redskins, wordplay, words Leave a commentJoe Theismann, the ex-Redskins quarterback, was discussing the 2018 Redskins on a local D.C. sports talk radio show and in particular the average wide receiver corps. This is a mash up of “more (something) than you can shake a stick at” (a very large number) and “nothing to write home about” (not especially remarkable or noteworthy). This is an interesting one as the two idioms have almost opposite meanings – a perfect example of an incongruent conflation. Maybe Joe was thinking of an earthquake with homes shaking when he uttered this one. A big thanks to Joe Welch who heard this one and sent it in.
A rose is a rose by any other name
Posted: January 4, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, Gertrude Stein, Hardball, humor, language, literature, malaphor, MSNBC, Shakespeare, words Leave a commentThis is a nice literary malaphor, uttered on the MSNBC show Hard Ball . It is a congruent conflation of Shakespeare’s “A rose by any other name” and Gertrude Stein’s sentence “a rose is a rose is a rose”, both interpreted as meaning things are what they are. A big thanks to Mike Kovacs for hearing this conflation of two famous lines in literature.
He had a hissing contest
Posted: January 3, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 93.7 the Fan, Antonio Brown, expressions, hissy fit, humor, malaphor, pissing contest, Ron Cook, Steelers, wordplay, words Leave a commentRon Cook, a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette sports writer, uttered this beauty on the sports talk radio show, 93.7 The Fan. He was summarizing Steelers’ wide receiver Antonio Brown’s out of control behavior and that Brown had “a hissing contest” with one of the coaches. This is a conflation of “pissing contest” (useless or trivial argument) and a “hissy fit” (a childish temper tantrum). Both idioms actually fit the context, a rarity in malaphors. The rhyming of hissing and pissing also contributed to the mashup. A big thanks to John Kooser for hearing this one and sending it in.
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