Stop yanking my leg
Posted: January 3, 2013 Filed under: ACTION, BODY PARTS, leg, yank | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, malaphors, mixed idioms, pulling my leg, words, yanking my chain Leave a commentThis wonderful congruent malaphor is a mash up of “pulling my leg” (tricking or fooling someone) and “yanking my chain” (bothering someone). Or then again, it could be a physical therapy patient protesting…. Thanks to Anna Washabaugh for contributing this one!
It’s a crap in the dark
Posted: December 26, 2012 Filed under: BODY PARTS, THINGS | Tags: blended idioms, crapshoot, expressions, malaphors, mixed idioms, shot in the dark, wild guess, words 1 CommentThis is a mash up of “shot in the dark” (wild guess) and “a crap-shoot” (risky enterprise), resulting in a phrase obviously not intended. This beauty was found in HomeRecording.com:
“This is just a crap in the dark, but have you tried disabling the drivers you don’t need in sonar?”
http://homerecording.com/bbs/user-forums-brand/cakewalk-sonar-forum/msdmo-dll-error-sonar-29157/
I had to bite my teeth
Posted: December 19, 2012 Filed under: ACTION, bite, BODY PARTS, tongue, tooth | Tags: bite my tongue, blended idioms, expressions, malaphors, mixed idioms, sink my teeth into, teeth, tongue, words 5 CommentsThis common malaphor (check the hits on google!) is used when someone is wanting to say “I had to bite my tongue” (struggling to not say something you really want to say). My guess is that the speaker is also thinking of “I showed my teeth” (displaying anger) or possibly “sink your teeth into” (become deeply involved). The latter is probably more likely as the words bite and sink are four letter words and are active verbs. Also, the tongue and teeth are near each other and so this adds to the confusion. Finally, teeth bite and tongues don’t so the mind might be trying to correct itself?
Teeth of a model. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
That’s on the top of my mind
Posted: December 14, 2012 Filed under: BODY PARTS | Tags: blended idioms, conflation, expressions, malaphors, mixed idioms, on my mind, top of my head, words 1 CommentThis is a mash up of “off the top of my head” (saying something without putting much thought in it) and “on my mind” (currently being thought of). Thanks to Katie Hatfield for sending me this one!
Not a dry tear in the room
Posted: December 7, 2012 Filed under: BODY PARTS, eye, tears | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, eye, malaphors, mixed idioms, not a dry eye, tear, words Leave a commentThis mixes “not a dry eye” (everyone crying from something emotional) and possibly “not shed a tear”(not showing emotion even though something is sad). “Move to tears” and “end in tears” also could be in play here. Of course, the speaker is thinking crying so naturally the word “tears” wells up in his mind. A big thank you to Vic for sharing this. It was spoken by a friend that was in charge of the sound board during the 60th birthday celebration of his pastor’s wife.
Keep an ear to the grindstone
Posted: December 1, 2012 Filed under: ACTION, BODY PARTS, ear, grindstone, nose, THINGS | Tags: blended idioms, ear, expressions, grindstone, keep an ear to the ground, malaphors, mixed idioms, nose, words 4 CommentsThis one is similar to an earlier malaphor, “put your shoulder to the grindstone” (posted July 20, 2012 – see body parts in index), except it mixes “keep an ear to the ground” (devote attention to watching or listening to clues) and “keep your nose to the grindstone” (work hard and constantly). While these two idioms have different meanings, they both express diligence in an action. They also both have the word “keep” in them. Finally, adding to the confusion are the use of body parts. Body parts are a common source of confusion for some reason, particularly if they are in close proximity – in this case, ears and noses. An amusing aside – I heard this one from a supervisor who was giving me advice.
Nip that in the butt
Posted: November 29, 2012 Filed under: BODY PARTS, bud, butt | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, kick in the butt, malaphors, malaprop, mixed idioms, nip in the bud, words Leave a commentWhile this can be classified as a malaprop (inadvertent substitution of a word with a strong phonetic similarity), it can also be considered a bona fide malaphor, mixing “nip it in the bud” (put a stop to something in its early development) and “kick in the butt” (forceful encouragement). I have heard this idiom misused often by younger people, so my guess is that it is probably a phrase that has mutated from the past generation (mine) to the current one. Another example is the phrase “buck naked”, mutating to the current “butt naked”. Still another is the word “moot” to “mute”, as in “that’s a mute point”. Am I correct, or am I just turning into a grouchy old man?
A big thanks to Judge Yvonne for sending this one in.
They threw a bullet in their foot
Posted: November 26, 2012 Filed under: ACTION, BODY PARTS, bullet, foot, THINGS, throw | Tags: blended idioms, dodge a bullet, expressions, foot, malaphors, mixed idioms, shoot yourself in the foot, steelers football, steelers radio, tunch ilkin, words 2 CommentsThis tortured malaphor was spoken by Tunch Ilkin on Steelers radio yesterday during the Steelers/Browns football game. Tunch is a wonderful commentator and ex-Steeler, and is known for his colorful language describing Steelers games. This time he seemed to have several thoughts buzzing through his head, as he wanted to say, that the Steelers had “shot themselves in the foot” (do something that causes problems for yourself), given that a seventh turnover had just been committed. Perhaps the shooting idea conjured up bullets and the phrase “dodge a bullet” (evaded something) or “took a bullet” (sacrificed), both meaning the opposite of what he wanted to say. The “threw” part of the phrase was the errant pass by the quarterback, resulting in an interception.
Sports media is a treasure trove of malaphors, many of which have been repeated on this website. A big thank you to my wife for hearing this gem on her way home from Costco!
That really stuck in my ear
Posted: November 11, 2012 Filed under: BODY PARTS | Tags: blended idioms, caught my eye, expressions, malaphors, mixed idioms, stuck in my mind, words Leave a commentThe more I think about this one, the more I like it. I think the speaker was trying to say “stuck in my mind (or brain)” (something repeatedly thought about) and perhaps was listening to something. The idiom “caught my eye” (brought to my attention) was also in play here. “Stuck in my craw” (something that makes one angry) might have been part of the thinking process but “stuck in my mind or brain” is probably the mix-up here. How many times have you had a tune or a fragment of a song go through your head repeatedly, essentially “stuck” in the recesses of your mind? This malaphor describes that situation perfectly, and may be the perfect blend of “caught my ear” and “stuck in my mind”..
Malaphors 
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