It will help you get your toe in the door
Posted: December 2, 2013 Filed under: BODY PARTS, door, foot, toes | Tags: blended idioms, dip your toe in the water, expressions, foot, get your foot in the door, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, toe, words Leave a commentThis mix-up was heard last week on the Today Show. A person was giving advice on how women can network to get back into a career after being out of work for a long time. She gave an example of web ideas and then uttered this great malaphor. It is a mash up of “get your foot in the door” (start at a low level in an organization in order to get a better job in that organization) and “dip your toe in the water” (start carefully or test things first). So perhaps a toe in the door is almost getting the job. I note that Australians say “get a leg in the door” instead of “foot in the door”, indicating that they are expecting a little higher level entry position? Certainly their minimum wage indicates so (Australia 15.96/hr vs. US 7.25/hr). Thanks to Ron Marks for sending this one in!
He just wanted to cover his neck
Posted: October 8, 2013 Filed under: ass, BODY PARTS, butt, cover, neck | Tags: blended idioms, cover your ass, cover your butt, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, stick your neck out, words Leave a commentThis is a mash up of “cover his butt (ass)” (make excuses or otherwise take action to avoid being blamed) and “don’t stick your neck out” (avoid risk). This malaphor was said by a person describing his physician and the excessive treatment given. I think it also applies to Congress lately…. A tip of the hat to JoErin O’Leary for sending this one in!
He has stuck his feet in the sand
Posted: October 3, 2013 Filed under: BODY PARTS, foot, sand, THINGS | Tags: blended idioms, bury your head in the sand, Capitol Hill, dig your heels in, draw a line in the sand, expressions, Harry Reid, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, Republican Party United States, Senate Democrats, Steve Scalise, stick your head in the sand, words 2 Comments
Photo of Congressman Steve Scalise (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
This timely malaphor is a mash up of several phrases, idioms, and ideas. Certainly “stick one’s head in the sand” (refuse to think about an unpleasant event) and “bury one’s head in the sand” (to ignore or hide from obvious signs of danger) is in the mix, along with “draw a line in the sand” (create an artificial boundary and imply that crossing it will cause trouble). In addition, “dig your heels in” (refuse to alter a course of action) is in play, considering context. Sticking your feet in cement also comes to mind. This mix-up was spoken by Steve Scalise (R-LA) at a press conference on Capitol Hill. Mr. Scalise was referring to Harry Reid and the Senate Democrats, indicating that they would not negotiate. You can find this beauty at about 1:30 in the video below:
WATCH: Hecklers rip into House Republicans during press conference addressing government shutdown
Thanks to Susan Kestner for sending this current and timely malaphor in!
We may turn a blind cheek to that.
Posted: September 21, 2013 Filed under: cheek, turn | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, turn a blind eye, turn the other cheek, words Leave a commentOkay, this one conjures up different images…. This is a mash up of two phrases that describe ignoring something or someone – “turn a blind eye” (to ignore something and pretend you did not see it) and “turn the other cheek” (to ignore abuse or an insult). Or maybe the speaker just wanted to ignore someone who was acting like a butt – who knows? Thanks to Yvonne Stam, a keen malaphor listener, for sending this one in.
He had the nurses eating out of his fingertips
Posted: September 2, 2013 Filed under: ACTION, BODY PARTS, eat, finger, hand | Tags: blended idioms, congruent conflations, eating out of my hand, expressions, humor, language, Little finger, malaphors, mixed idioms, twisted around the little finger, words 1 CommentI believe this is a congruent conflation of “eating out of his hand” and “twisted around his little finger“, both meaning to control or manipulate others. “At your fingertips” (within reach) might also be in the jumble. Regardless, this malaphor paints an unsanitary picture but one worthy of posting on Labor Day. Here’s to all the hardworking nurses out there! A shout out to Steve Grieme for sending this one in.
It was so cold my lips were chattering
Posted: August 21, 2013 Filed under: BODY PARTS, lips, tooth | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, humor, language, lips are blue, malaphors, mixed idioms, teeth are chattering, words 1 CommentAnd my teeth were blue? This is a wacky mixture of “teeth are chattering” and “lips are blue”, both describing being extremely cold. A big thank you to Steve Grieme for hearing this one from his son on a recent family vacation and sending it to Malaphor Central!
Off the cuff of my head
Posted: August 19, 2013 Filed under: BODY PARTS, cuff, head | Tags: African National Congress, blended idioms, congruent conflations, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, off the cuff, off the top of my head, South Africa, words Leave a commentThis is a congruent conflation of “off the top of my head” and “off the cuff”, both expressions meaning to speak without much thought or preparation. It is similar to the 9/16/12 post “he said it off the top of his cuff”. This malaphor came all the way from South Africa. An African National Congress (ANC) spokesperson during a radio interview, in avoiding difficult questions, responded with the opener: “Well, off the cuff of my head . . .” A shout out to Allan Muir for sending this one in!
We keep our eyes to the ground
Posted: August 13, 2013 Filed under: BODY PARTS, ear, eye, ground | Tags: blended idioms, Business, ear to the ground, expressioins, humor, keep your eyes open, keep your eyes peeled, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, words Leave a commentThis is a mix of “keep an ear to the ground” (alert and listening for clues) and “keep your eyes wide open (or peeled)” (vigilant and watchful). This subtle conflation was heard on Bloomberg news:
Question from interviewer: how do you have such success picking funds?
Ans: we keep our eyes to the ground.
The speaker quickly corrected himself and said: “We keep our ears to the ground and look ahead.” Self caught malaphor. Nice. A big thank you to John Costello for hearing this one.
Keep your eyes on the tiger
Posted: August 4, 2013 Filed under: eye, tiger | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, eye of the tiger, eyes on the prize, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, words Leave a commentThis is a blend of “eyes on the prize” and “eye of the tiger”. I heard this tonight in the Sopranos episode “Sentimental Education” (Season five, Episode six). The writing in the Sopranos is rich with wordplay. I have posted several malaphors heard on the Sopranos series.
Things roll off my shoulders
Posted: July 28, 2013 Filed under: back, roll, shoulders | Tags: blended idioms, broad shoulders, conflation, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, roll off my back, words Leave a commentI think this is a mash up of “letting things roll off ones back” and “having broad shoulders”, both meaning to accept criticism and not worry. Shoulder rolls (or shrugs) also may come into play. A tip of the toque to Sam Edelmann for hearing and sharing this one.
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