Don’t let the bean out of the bag
Posted: March 12, 2013 Filed under: ANIMALS, bean, cat, FOOD | Tags: beans, blended idioms, cat, cat out of the bag, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, spill the beans, words Leave a commentThis strange expression is a mash up of “cat out of the bag” and “spill the beans”, both meaning to give away a secret or surprise. The speaker may also have been thinking of bean bags. Who didn’t have a bean bag chair adorning their living room in the 70s and 80s? Mine was a beautiful pukish brown with a corduroy cover – stylish. Thanks to Cathy Miller for this one!
Bean Bag Chair (Photo credit: Clover_1)
That’s the cat calling the kettle black
Posted: February 24, 2013 Filed under: black, cat, kettle | Tags: black cat, blended idioms, cat calls, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, pot calling the kettle black, words Leave a commentThis is a mash up of “the pot calling the kettle black” and “cat calls”. Let’s also throw in black cats for good measure, and maybe “cattle calls”? Pot and cat are three letter words ending in t, another possible cause for confusion. Thanks to Kimberly for providing this gem.
Black Cat Portrait (Photo credit: Georgo10)
Malaphors 
Recent Comments