You are shooting yourself in the foot to spite your face
Posted: October 2, 2014 Filed under: ACTION, cut, foot, shoot | Tags: cutting your nose off to spite your face, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, shooting yourself in the foot, words 2 CommentsYes, that is what Sarah blurted out to her husband, and then she realized she had unintentionally uttered a malaphor. As she said, “this is what sleep deprivation and being newly post partum will do to someone.” The malaphor is a mix of “shooting yourself in the foot” (to cause yourself difficulty) and “cut off your nose to spite your face” (to hurt yourself in an attempt to hurt another). Both phrases have to do with doing damage to oneself, literally (cutting and shooting) and figuratively. Sarah’s malaphor contains serious damage! Thanks to Sarah for sending this one in!
We’ve got our hands cut out for us
Posted: January 21, 2013 Filed under: ACTION, BODY PARTS, cut, hand | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, hands, hands full, humor, malaphors, mixed idioms, words, work, work cut out for us Leave a commentThis is a mixture of “our work cut out for us” and “we’ve got our hands full”, both meaning a lot of work is ahead. There are other phrases involving the word “hands” that might be in play – “many hands make light work”, all hands”, “helping hands”. Perhaps the severed hand below will help…
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