Leaving him out to dry

This malaphor was uttered by Mehdi Hasan, who was subbing for Chris Hayes on MSNBC’s show “All In with Chris Hayes”. Indicating what was going to be discussed that night, Hasan said this at the beginning of the April 1 show:

“Plus, the latest on the Matt Gaetz investigation and the Republicans leaving him out to dry.”

This is a congruent conflation of “hang (one) out to dry” and “leave (someone) high and dry”, both meaning to desert or leave one in a troubling situation. “Dry” is the shared word here, contributing to the mashup. Also “hang” and “leave” are juxtaposed, causing more confusion. Of course, maybe Hasan is actually indicating Gaetz is a wet mess and a little sunshine would do him good. A big thanks to Frank King for hearing this one and passing it on!