I fall asleep at the drop of a dime

Posted: June 26, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: ACTION, CLOTHING, dime, hat, sleep, THINGS | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

This wonderful congruent conflation is a mash up of  “at the drop of a hat” and “stop on a dime”, both meaning an action done instantly.  Drop and stop are four letter words that rhyme, adding to the befuddlement.  This beauty was heard at a court hearing.  Kudos to Sam Edelmann for sending this one into Malaphor central!

I slept like a dog last night

Posted: June 18, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: ACTION, ANIMALS, dog, sleep | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Dogs sleep pretty soundly, but this is definitely a malaphor.  It is a mash up of “slept like a log (or baby)” (restful sleep)  and “let sleeping dogs lie” (do not instigate trouble).  Nice mix up as it involves assonance (log, dog, and lie, like) and similar words in the phrases (sleep, dog).  This beauty was uttered by John Costello, one of my roving malaphor reporters!

Beschreibung Sleeping dog 98a.jpg

Don’t wake up a sleeping dog

Posted: May 29, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: ACTION, ANIMALS, dog, sleep | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments
Here is another beaut from the sports world.   Miami Heat center Chris Bosh, commenting on Lance Stephenson of the Pacers trash-talking Lebron James said,  “Don’t wake up a sleeping dog. That’s a lesson I learned a long time ago.”   This is a great mash-up of “let sleeping dogs lie” (leave something alone that may cause trouble) and “don’t wake a sleeping giant”   (something powerful that is not dangerous unless provoked).  Confusion lies in the common word “sleeping” and that some dogs can be dangerous if provoked.   A big shout out to Justin Taylor for catching this one!  Reference is below:
Source here: http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2014-05-25/sports/fl-miami-heat-main-0526-20140525_1_lebron-james-lance-stephenson-stephenson-and-james

Let dead dogs sleep

Posted: January 2, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: ACTION, ANIMALS, dog, sleep | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments
Cover of "Anguished English: An Anthology...

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This is a conflation of “let sleeping dogs lie” (leave something alone that might cause trouble) and I think “don’t beat a dead horse” (don’t waste time doing something that has already been attempted).   When you mix dogs with horses, and sleeping with lying and dying, you get this malaphor.  This one comes from Richard Lederer‘s  Anguished English: An Anthology of Accidental Assaults Upon the English Language, rev. ed. Wyrick, 2006.