December 5, 2025 3:24 pm
This was overheard in a work conversation: “this has been a thorn in my butt for years now.” It is a congruent conflation of “thorn in my side” and “pain in the butt”, both meaning something or someone is a source of annoyance or trouble. “A thorn in my paw” might also be in play here. Mixing body parts with thorns seems like a common thing – see past malaphors “thorn in the eye”, “thorn in the heel”, “thorn in the foot”. https://malaphors.com/2023/09/15/defense-has-been-a-thorn-in-the-seahawks-heel-today/ https://malaphors.com/2022/01/22/hes-definitely-a-thorn-in-their-eye/ https://malaphors.com/2013/03/21/its-a-thorn-in-the-foot/ A big thank you to Donna Doblick for sharing this one.
Did you enjoy this one? Why not get a malaphor book (or two) as stocking stuffers this holiday season? They fit in a standard stocking and are cheap – Get them on Amazon here https://www.amazon.com/dp/0692652205
Posted by davemalaphor
Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, words
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I love this one…should be the title of the third book in the malaphor trilogy
By iemeagain@aol.com on December 5, 2025 at 4:15 pm
It is a good one, but I already have the title for the third book, which is all malaphors from the sports world – Backseat Quarterback. Coming soon!
By davemalaphor on December 5, 2025 at 4:34 pm
[like] Pietrucha, Martin T reacted to your message:
By Pietrucha, Martin T on December 5, 2025 at 5:35 pm