Treat him with golden gloves

Posted: August 10, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: BODY PARTS, CLOTHING, COLORS | Tags: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

This is another of “the master’s”, and I have had difficulty figuring out his genius on this one.  Obviously he was trying to say “treat with kid gloves” (deal with someone very gently) but what is the other phrase or idiom?  Immediately what comes to mind is “golden gloves” (name for amateur boxing competition) but what about “golden handshake” (excellent severance package) or “good as gold” (well-behaved)?  I think the best possibility is “golden touch” (a person successful in everything he tries) as “touch” refers to “hands” or in this case “gloves”.  Or maybe I am just over analyzing….

Let’s roll up our elbows and get to work

Posted: July 30, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: ACTION, BODY PARTS, CLOTHING | Tags: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

This one is a mash-up of “roll up your sleeves” and “elbow grease”, both idioms describing working hard.  Rolling up the elbows fuses those idioms together very nicely and describes applying oneself to the task at hand perhaps better and certainly more succinctly!  By the way, this is another one of the master’s gems.

Throw in the hat

Posted: July 19, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: ACTION, CLOTHING | Tags: , , , , | 1 Comment

This malaphor mixes two idioms with opposite meanings – “throw in the towel” and “hat in the ring”.   When I heard it, the speaker intended to say”throw in the towel”.   Maybe he didn’t really want to give up?   Or maybe it was that second martini talking….

He’ll do anything at the drop of a bucket

Posted: July 11, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: bucket, CLOTHING, drop, hat, THINGS | Tags: , , | 2 Comments

 

I think the brain twists drop and kick together and comes up with this excellent malaphor.   I have heard this one several times so the synapse must be weak….

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