I’m making a downposit

This single word blend malaphor is a conflation of “down payment” and “deposit”. Both are banking terms and certainly a down payment is a deposit of some kind.

Word blends are types of malaphors and the website and books have many examples.

Someone asked me if my word blend malaphors are actually portmanteaus. I don’t think so. The main difference is that a portmanteau is an intentional word blend while a malaphor is unintentional.  There are other differences:

A portmanteau is a combination of two (or more) words or morphemes, and their definitions, into one new word. A portmanteau word generally combines both sounds and meanings, as in smog, coined by blending smoke and fog. More generally, it may refer to any term or phrase that combines two or more meanings, for instance, the term “wurly” when describing hair that is both wavy and curly.

The word “portmanteau” was first used in this context by Lewis Carroll in the book Through the Looking-Glass (1871), in which Humpty Dumpty explains to Alice the coinage of the unusual words in Jabberwocky, where “slithy” means “lithe and slimy” and “mimsy” is “flimsy and miserable”. Humpty Dumpty explains the practice of combining words in various ways by telling Alice,

‘You see it’s like a portmanteau—there are two meanings packed up into one word.’

My single word blend malaphors are unconscious blends of words to make an unintentional new word. The word sounds or looks correct at first blush, but then on closer examination is incorrect. Examples include “Buckminster Palace” (Buckingham and Westminster, and/or possibly Buckminster Fuller) and “split-minute decision” (split second and last minute).

A big thanks to Elliot Arshan for unintentionally saying this one and sending it in.

I wonder if he will bite the bait

Harvey Levin, host of TMZ, was musing about Elon Musk wanting to fight Putin, and uttered this nice alliterative congruent conflation of “take the bait” and “bite”, both meaning to respond to a come-on. It might refer to a hungry fisherman. A big thanks to Vicki Ameel-Kovacs for hearing this one!

At the leap of a hat

This is a nice mashup of “at the drop of a hat” (freely, immediately; with little provocation) and “a leap of faith” (acceptance of an idea largely on faith). “A leap in the dark” (doing something without knowing the consequences) might also be in the mix. A big thanks to George Mikalis for uttering this one unintentionally and sending it in.

Security is tight as a whistle

Daymond John, CEO of FUBU and one of the sharks on Shark Tank, was talking to some contestants who had snuck two big trash bags into a Phoenix Suns game. John replied that “security is tight as a whistle” there. This is a mashup of “tight as a drum” (sealed tight) and “clean/slick as a whistle” (completely, entirely – also well-behaved and not involved in illegal activity). John was of course thinking of just the word “tight” as in “security is tight” but apparently wanted to add a simile. Tight security means the place is “clean” so that might be where the mental mixup originated. A big thanks to Mike Kovacs for hearing this one!

Lead it away with your questions

A guy on a conference call started a meeting with this congruent conflation of “take it away” and “lead off”, both invitations to begin something. Nothing like a nice congruent conflation to start the weekend. A tip of the hat to Mike Kovacs for hearing this one and sending it in.

Don’t stir sleeping dogs

This great advice is a nice congruent conflation of “let sleeping dogs lie” and “don’t stir a hornet’s nest”, both meaning to not instigate trouble. “Stir the pot” (exacerbate a tense situation) might also be in the mix. This one reminds me of a prior malaphor post: “Don’t wake up a sleeping dog” (May 2014). https://malaphors.com/2014/05/29/dont-wake-up-a-sleeping-dog/

A big thank you to Frank Gavio who heard this one in a conversation and sent it in.

The book caught the sports world by storm

A Sports Illustrated story concerning Mike Krzyzewski (Coach K) reportedly being upset with the news about the new Duke coaching situation contains this nice malaphor. It is a mashup of “caught by surprise” (startled by someone) and “take (someone or something) by storm” (win widespread success or popularity very quickly). It’s in the second paragraph of the article:

https://apple.news/A_vdjpFZARcKuZATKgVsENw

A big thanks to Frank King for spotting this one.

It scared the death out of me

This one was heard on an old Abbott and Costello episode entitled, “Safari”. Lou was terrified after seeing a gorilla and blurted out this mashup. It appears it was an ad lib so I am ruling this one unintentional, thus making it a bona fide malaphor. It is a congruent conflation of “scared to death” and “scared the crap/hell out of me”, both meaning to be shocked or frightened very suddenly. A big thanks to John Kooser for hearing this one and sending it in!

The joke is on the other foot

Season 36, episode 10, British “Antiques Roadshow”. Valuing some Micky Mouse watches and noting they used to be not worth much, the appraiser said they used to joke, “it’s just a micky mouse watch….but now the joke is on the other foot.” This is a nice mashup of “the joke is on (one)” (a joke or malicious act has backfired) and “the shoe is on the other foot” (roles have been reversed). Both idioms involve a switch or reversal, and both contain the words “is on”. A tip of the hat to Donna Calvert for hearing this one and sending it in!

It’s a two-pronged sword

Rep. Pete Aguilar of (D-CA & January 6th Committee member) on the Rachel Maddow show (Feb. 15, 2022) was asked if he expects people to comply to subpoenas, and he referred to it as a “two-pronged sword”:

Do you expect those individuals to testify and provide documents to the committee?

AGUILAR: Well, it`s a two-pronged sword there. We want both the production of documents, as well as their testimony. That`s what we`ve sought out of each individual who`s received a subpoena. That`s our expectation.

https://www.msnbc.com/transcripts/rachel-maddow-show/transcript-rachel-maddow-2-15-22-n1289556

This is a mashup of “double-edged/two-edged sword” (something that can be both beneficial and problematic) and “two-pronged (approach)” (use two methods to get to the same goal). Actually, there is a two-pronged sword, and it is called a Zulfiqar. It was historically frequently depicted as a scissor-like double bladed sword on Muslim flags, and it is commonly shown in Shia depictions of Ali and in the form of jewelry functioning as talismans as a scimitar terminating in two points.

A tip of the hat to Ron MacDonald for hearing this one and sending it in!