Don’t hold your breath until the chickens are hatched

This one was heard on a political podcast warning both Democrats and Republicans to proceed with caution about the SCOTUS nomination of Amy Comey Barrett. The speaker was warning both sides to not think they are in control and know what is coming. This is a conflation of “don’t hold your breath” (don’t expect something to happen that will not happen) and “don’t count your chickens (before they hatch)” (not to expect something to happen before it has happened). Both idioms allude to tempering one’s expectations, or being cautious/wary of some desired or expected outcome. Both phrases begin with the word “don’t”, which probably led to the mental mashup. Chickens and eggs are commonly found in malaphors. Just type those words in the search engine on the website and see what comes up. A big thank you to Verbatim for hearing this one and sending it in!