You’re making a really significant risk
Posted: May 6, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, Fauci, humor, idioms, language, making a mistake, malaphor, taking a risk, Washington Posta, words 2 CommentsThis was from a headline in the Washington Post: “Fauci warns states rushing to reopen: ‘You’re making a really significant risk.” This is a mashup of “making a mistake” (to do something incorrectly) and “taking a risk” (doing something with a high probability of a negative outcome). “Taking” and “making” are mixed up here. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/05/01/fauci-open-states-coronavirus/
A big thanks to Barry Eigen for spotting this subtle one.
This sounds like catching a slip – as if he started to say exactly what he thought, then thought better of it in mid phrase
probably so. Freudian malaphor?