Throwing our swag around
Posted: January 28, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, Philadelphia Inquirer, Trump, words Leave a commentThis one comes from the Philadelphia Inquirer, Sunday Jan 25, p A8. Asked about how Trump is doing in Northeast PA, a voter said:
“He’s done great militarily, throwing our swag around.”
This is a mashup of “throw (one’s) weight around” (to assert oneself in an authoritarian manner) and “swagger” (conduct oneself in an arrogant or pompous manner). It is almost a congruent conflation, as both idioms conjure an arrogant way of behaving. Interestingly, “swag” is promotional merchandise, and the speaker might have been thinking of that as well. A big thanks to Linda Bernstein who spotted this one and sent it in!

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