Crazy as a fox
Posted: April 3, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: All In With Chris Hayes, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, Trump, words 1 CommentThis one is subtle, but nevertheless a good malaphor. Heard on the podcast, All In with Chris Hayes, Miles Keller says this at approx 12:45 in the podcast:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/all-in-with-chris-hayes/id1314170606?i=1000754959229
This is a mashup of “crazy like a fox” (someone who acts foolish but is actually very clever) and “crazy as a loon/bedbug” (someone who is completely mad). Keller was describing Trump and his so-called strategies overseas. He meant the latter. A big thanks to Frank King for hearing this one and sending it in!
Our wishes have been answered
Posted: March 30, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, humor, Josh Getzoff, language, malaphors, Pittsburgh Penguins, words 1 CommentDuring a Pittsburgh Penguins pre-game show, Josh Getzoff uttered this nice congruent conflation of “our prayers have been answered” and “our wishes have been granted”, both phrases confirming that a request has been fulfilled. Props to Steve Kovacs for hearing this subtle malaphor and sending it in!
We built too big of a hole
Posted: March 27, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Darian Devries, expressions, humor, IU basketball, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, words Leave a commentThis is an incongruent conflation (mix of two idioms with opposite meanings) of “built too big of a lead” and “dug too big of a hole”. You don’t build a hole. A big thanks to Bruce Ryan for spotting this one.
It’s no walk in the roses
Posted: March 23, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, words, malaphors, mixed idioms, language, humor, People's Pharmacy 1 CommentThis one was heard on “The People’s Pharmacy” podcast, show 1461. Occurs around the 12:40 mark. Here is the excerpt:
This is a congruent conflation of “no bed of roses” and “no walk in the park”, both referring to something that is not easy to accomplish. I suppose that is true unless you have been honored to walk in the Rose Parade, right? Kudos to Yvonne Stam for hearing this one and sending it in.
I tried to put my shoes in his head
Posted: March 4, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, George W. Bush, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, words 1 CommentThis odd statement is a congruent conflation of “get in his head” and “walk a mile in his shoes”, both phrases meaning to try to understand the way another person is thinking. This one reminds me of the George W. Bush shoe throwing incident. On December 14, 2008, Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi removed his shoes and threw them at then United States president George W. Bush during a joint press conference with Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad, Iraq. Bush quickly ducked, avoiding being hit by either shoe. Props to Frozen Cusser for hearing this one and sending it in!
He tore the house upside down
Posted: March 2, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, words, malaphors, mixed idioms, language, humor, Lords of Death 1 CommentThis subtle malaphor was uttered on the podcast, Lords of Death. It is a mashup of “tear it apart” (violently rip something into pieces) and “turn the house upside down” (searching a place so thoroughly it becomes extremely messy). A big thank you to Anthony Kovacs for hearing this one and sending it in.
Crying fire
Posted: February 27, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized 1 CommentA coworker said, this one, meaning to say “cry wolf” but evidently misfired. It is a congruent conflation of “crying wolf” and “yelling/shouting fire (in a crowded theater)”, both meaing to raise a false alarm. A shout out to Frozen Cusser for sending this one in!
break the veil
Posted: February 23, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized 1 CommentThere was a discussion about a soccer player. The speaker said what broke the veil about the player’s reputation was that he couldn’t run very fast. This is a mashup of “lift the veil” (reveal something that was secret or misunderstood) and “break the spell” (to do something that ends a period of enchantment). “Spell” and “veil” seem to go together, conjuring images of genies and magic. “Piercing the corporate veil” might also have been in the speaker’s mind. That is a legal term meaning to find shareholders or directors personally liable for the company’s fraud or abuse. Another shout out to Martin Pietrucha for hearing this one and sending it in!
It fell on flat ears
Posted: February 20, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, words 1 CommentTwo friends were talking about new ideas, and one said he pitched a few to a car company years ago but “everything I said fell on flat ears.” This is a mashup of “fall flat” (fail completely to produce the desired effect) and “fall on deaf ears” (to be ignored). A tip of the hat to frequent malaphor contributor Martin Pietrucha for sharing this one.
I just barely scratched the tip of the iceberg
Posted: February 18, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Epstein files, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, Maxwell Frost, mixed idioms, MS Now, The Last Word, Trump, words Leave a commentOn the MS NOW show, The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell, Congressman Maxwell Frost was talking about going to the Justice Department and conducting a two-hour review of the unredacted Epstein files. Frost then uttered this nice congruent conflation of “barely scratching the surface” and “tip of the iceberg”, both referring to the beginning of a much larger issue or problem. Considering there are 3 million files, I think the Congressman’s description is accurate. A big thank you to Ron MacDonald for hearing this one and sending it in!
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