Elephant poaching is over the roof
Posted: October 29, 2013 Filed under: roof | Tags: Barbara Baker, blended idioms, elephant, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, over the top, Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, Poaching, through the roof, words Leave a comment
African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) in Pittsburgh Zoo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
This malaphor combines two expressions concerning high numbers – “through the roof” (increasing very quickly) and “over the top”. Barbara Baker, President and CEO of the Pittsburgh Zoo, made this comment in reference to the increase in elephant poaching. Many thanks to Sam Edelmann who heard this on the radio last week.
They have gone off the ranch
Posted: October 21, 2013 Filed under: ranch, reservation | Tags: bet the ranch, blended idioms, Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield, expressions, humor, Jeremy Scahill, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, off the reservation, Renée Montagne, words Leave a commentThis subtle mix up combines “off the reservation” (thinking differently than what the group believes is acceptable) and “bet the ranch” (risk everything because you are certain of its success). This was heard on NPR: Author of ‘Dirty Wars‘, Jeremy Scahill, speaking to Renee Montagne on NPR’s Morning Edition 10/16/13: “Also there have been incidents where U.S. forces are deployed as trainers and then have sort of gone off the ranch and done unilateral activities that have angered the host government.” Perhaps the speaker was thinking that the trainers were mavericks or cowboys, conjuring up ranches instead of reservations. Thanks to Sally Adler 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.
Not the brightest tool in the shed
Posted: June 24, 2013 Filed under: bulb, shed, tool | Tags: blended idioms, bulb, conflations, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, sharpest tool in the shed, shed, tool, words 2 CommentsThis is a mash up of “not the sharpest tool in the shed” and “not the brightest bulb in the chandelier” (or “not the brightest”), both idioms describing someone lacking in intelligence. Of course it had to be me who uttered this one to my wife who promptly pointed out the mix-up. It reminded me once again that I really am not the brightest tool in the shed.
He really sold him under the bus
Posted: May 16, 2013 Filed under: bus, river | Tags: blended idioms, bus, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, river, sold him up the river, threw him under the bus, words 1 CommentHave I found the new “master”? Actress Cristin Milioti said the following to People magazine:
“The other day I was chatting with my boyfriend,” she told Theater Mania, “and I said to him, ‘He really sold him under the bus.’ And he said, ‘I think you meant “threw him under the bus,” or “sold him up the river.” ‘ … It’s a constant problem. On my first date, my boyfriend asked me if I wanted to eat a la carte, and I said that I would prefer to stay inside! It’s really embarrassing.”
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20700130,00.html?xid=rss-fullcontent
Cristin, do NOT be embarrassed by this wonderful gift you have received. On the contrary, continue to utter your wonderful malaphors so I can share them with the world. “To err is human; to malaphor, divine.”
She has flown off the deep end
Posted: May 3, 2013 Filed under: deep end, fly | Tags: Amanda Bynes, blended idioms, fly off the handle, gone off the deep end, Huffington Post, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, words Leave a commentThis malaphor was found by Bob Ferrante as he was reading the Huffington Post. It is a mash up of “gone off the deep end” and “fly off the handle”, both meaning to get extremely angry or crazy. The blended idiom comes from a discussion about the actress Amanda Bynes:
“In case we needed any further proof that Amanda Bynes has flown off the deep end, here’s her latest outlandish Twitter remark…”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/28/amanda-bynes-twitter_n_2970924.html
Every tree has a silver lining
Posted: February 19, 2013 Filed under: alley, COLORS, PLACES, silver, THINGS, tree | Tags: blended idioms, cloud, every cloud has a silver lining, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, tree, words Leave a commentThe speaker was obviously meaning to say “every cloud has a silver lining”, but where did the tree come from? Possibly he was thinking of a silver maple, those messy trees that every yard seems to have. Or, as my “ol pal” suggests, the word “sliver” instead of “silver” floated up in the brain soup, suggesting wood. “Barking up the wrong tree” also might have been in the mix, even though the meaning is not remotely close to the intended meaning. Any other suggestions out there? Thanks to Art for sending this one to the site.
He really threw a monkey wrench into that fire
Posted: February 8, 2013 Filed under: ACTION, ANIMALS, monkey, PLACES, THINGS, throw, wrench | Tags: adding fuel to the fire, blended idioms, expressions, fire, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, monkey wrench, words Leave a commentMy dear friend Cindy W. said when she said this one, everyone looked at her like she had “four heads”. This terrific malaphor thus is a 4 head winner. It is a mash up of “throw a monkey wrench in (something)” (to cause something to fail) and “throw gas (or fuel) on the fire” or “out of the frying pan into the fire” (both meaning make a bad situation worse), or even “several irons in the fire” (a number of possibilities).
English: Line art drawing of a monkey wrench. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
English: vervet monkey in the Kruger NP (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Party for two?
Posted: January 22, 2013 Filed under: party, PLACES, THINGS | Tags: blended idioms, dinner for two, expressions, humor, language, lingusitics, malaphors, mixed idioms, party of two, Shania Twain, words Leave a commentA friend heard this subtle malaphor from a seating host at a restaurant. This is a mash up of “party of two” and “table for two”, both expressions used at restaurants. This is in contrast to a true party for two, noted by Shania Twain in her hit, “Party for Two”:
BRIDGE:
It doesn’t matter what you wear
‘Cause it’s only gonna be
you and me there (Whoa!)
CHORUS:
I’m having a party
A party for two
Invitin’ nobody
Nobody but you
Malaphors 
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