He put a burr in her bonnet
Posted: December 28, 2012 Filed under: ANIMALS, bee, bonnet, burr, CLOTHING | Tags: bee in her bonnet, blended idioms, burr under the saddle, expressions, malaphors, mixed idioms, words Leave a commentThis is a confused conflation of “have a burr under his saddle” (irritated by something) and “put a bee in her bonnet” (give someone an idea), contributed by Steve Grieme. Perhaps the speaker was thinking of an irritating idea? Or could it possibly be a confusion of burrs and bees? I remember that song – “Let me tell you ’bout the burrs and the bees, and the flowers and the trees”….
It’s just a drop in the hat
Posted: December 16, 2012 Filed under: ACTION, CLOTHING | Tags: a drop in the bucket, at the drop of a hat, blended idioms, buckethead, conflations, expressions, malaphors, mixed idioms, words 1 CommentThis may be the mother of all malaphors, given the amount of hits on google where writers unintentionally use this blended idiom when they meant to say “drop in the bucket”. This of course is a mash up of “a drop in the bucket” (an insignificant contribution to a larger problem) and “at the drop of a hat” (immediately), two distinctively different idioms. The confusion lies in the use of the two articles the and a, the two prepositions in and of, and also the words bucket and hat, both containers. Actually, buckets are sometimes used for hats, as in the case of the guitarist Buckethead.
English: Buckethead in concert at Neumos in Seattle. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
He kept pushing my strings
Posted: November 24, 2012 Filed under: ACTION, CLOTHING, pull, push, strings, THINGS | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, malaphors, mixed idioms, pulling strings, pushing his buttons, words Leave a commentPush or pull? Buttons or strings? Oh, the mind twists and turns in mysterious ways, particularly as one grows older. I heard myself saying this one awhile back. This is a confused conflation of “pushing his buttons” (knowing ways to make a person angry) and “pulling strings” (“to use influence to get something done”). Of course, I am sure Pinocchio must have said this at some point to Geppetto.
Cover of Geppetto
He wears it on his shoulder
Posted: October 17, 2012 Filed under: BODY PARTS, CLOTHING | Tags: blended idioms, chip on your shouder, expressions, malaphors, mixed idioms, wear it on your sleeve, words Leave a commentHeard near Brisbane, Australia. This is a blend of wearing it on your sleeve (showing your emotions) and chip on your shoulder (grudge shown openly). Malaphors are everywhere…
Don’t air your dirty laundry in the closet
Posted: September 22, 2012 Filed under: ACTION, CLOTHING, PLACES, THINGS | Tags: blended idioms, dirty laundry, expressions, malaphors, mixed idioms, out of the closet, skeletons in the closet, words 2 CommentsCertainly words of wisdom. This is a mash up of “don’t air your dirty laundry” (don’t reveal secrets publicly), “out of the closet” (a secret revealed to the public) and “skeletons in the closet” (deep secrets one does not want revealed), all referring to secrets. And of course dirty laundry often is collected in hampers in the closet so laundry and closet are word associations. On the other hand, maybe the speaker was being literal and recommending that dirty laundry in a closet will eventually make your closet smell….doubtful.
He said it off the top of his cuff
Posted: September 16, 2012 Filed under: BODY PARTS, CLOTHING, THINGS | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, malaphors, mixed idioms, off the cuff, off the top of his head, words Leave a commentThis is one from “the master”, and it shows. Subtle and brilliant, it is a mash up of two similar meaning idioms – “off the cuff” (speaking spontaneously without rehearsal) and “off the top of his head” (saying something without thinking about it first). Combining these two idioms into one shows “the master’s” continued economical use of the English language.
Let’s do it and listen to how the shoe pinches
Posted: September 14, 2012 Filed under: ACTION, CLOTHING, THINGS | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, malaphors, mixed idioms, pinches, shoe, words 2 CommentsThis one is a little far-fetched for my taste, but it needs to be posted nonetheless. This is a mix up of “if the shoe fits” (an unflattering remark that is true so should be accepted) and probably “feel the pinch” (having less money), although the speaker may have just been thinking about ill-fitted shoes that pinch the toes and feet. Any other suggestions on this one would be appreciated.
He’s feathering his own pockets
Posted: September 2, 2012 Filed under: ANIMALS, CLOTHING | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, feather, malaphors, mixed idioms, nest, pockets, words Leave a commentThis is a mixture of “feathering your own nest” and “lining your pockets”, both sayings meaning making lots of money, sometimes illegally, at the expense of others or disregard for others. This malaphor might be an improvement over both sayings.
Let’s draw hats
Posted: August 28, 2012 Filed under: ACTION, CLOTHING, THINGS | Tags: blended idioms, draw straws, expressions, hats, malaphors, mixed idioms, words Leave a commentMy workplace held an annual golf tournament. One year we had some late entries creating some uneven teams. It was uncertain how we would create the late foursomes. “The Master” immediately blurted out, “let’s draw hats!” Most of the folks in the room did not blink an eye and immediately understood what he suggested, but I quickly jotted down the malaphor masterpiece. This mash-up involves the phrases “draw straws” and “pick names out of a hat” (both methods to pick teams).
Drawing Straws (Photo credit: lucianvenutian)
You can’t pull one over on my eyes
Posted: August 25, 2012 Filed under: ACTION, BODY PARTS, CLOTHING | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, eyes, malaphors, mixed idioms, pull, tricked, words 1 CommentThis malaphor seems very straightforward – a blend of “put one over on me” and “pull the wool over my eyes”. Both idioms mean “to be fooled” and both contain the word “over”, hence the confusion. The word “pullover” also might have been jumbled in the subconscious as in a “pullover sweater” which of course goes over the eyes. In blending both idioms, the speaker was undoubtedly trying to be particularly emphatic about not being tricked!
Malaphors 
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