That train has sailed
Posted: November 13, 2015 Filed under: ACTION, sail, train, Uncategorized | Tags: Austin Powers, congruent conflation, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, that ship has sailed, that train has left the station, words 1 CommentThis is a congruent conflation of “that ship has sailed” and “that train has left the station”, both meaning the act has already been done. It was said by Austin Powers in the movie Austin Powers, International Man of Mystery, when he was speaking to a drunk Vanessa:
She was very groovy.
Your dad loved her very much.
If there was one other cat in this world that could have loved her and treated her as well as your dad then it was me.
But unfortunately for yours truly that train has sailed.
Vanessa?
Vanessa? Hello?
A big thanks to Sam Edelmann for hearing this one. Oh behave!
It was like pulling blood out of a stone
Posted: April 23, 2015 Filed under: ACTION, pull, stone, THINGS | Tags: congruent conflation, expressions, getting blood from a stone, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, pulling teeth, words Leave a commentThis is a perfect congruent conflation. It mixes “getting blood out of (or from) a stone” and “like pulling teeth”, both phrases meaning to do something with great difficulty. The speaker was finding a particular essay difficult to write and remarked that writing it was like pulling blood out of a stone. A big thanks to Red C. for sending this one in from the U.K.
They gave us an opportunity to learn by fire
Posted: April 21, 2015 Filed under: fire, THINGS | Tags: baptism by fire, expressions, humor, language, learn by example, malaphor, malaphors, words Leave a commentThe (un)Civil Professor of Malaphors, Martin Pietrucha, strikes again with this beauty overheard at a conference. It is a perfect mash up of “learn by example” (educated by watching someone or something) and “baptism by fire” (a first experience of something, usually difficult). “Under fire” (criticized) might also be in the mix, although I think the shared word here is “by”.
I’m not going to carry your wagon anymore
Posted: January 2, 2015 Filed under: carry, wagon | Tags: carry your own weight, expressions, fix your wagon, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, words 5 CommentsThe first malaphor of 2015, a speaker replaced the word weight with wagon and unintentionally created this mix of “carry your own weight” (do your share) and “fix your wagon” (to punish or get even with someone). Both phrases include words the begin with W, probably contributing to the confusion. Could “hitch your wagon to a star” (aspiring to do great things) be in the mix as well? Thanks to John Costello for sending this one in.
I dropped the boat on that one
Posted: December 15, 2014 Filed under: ACTION, ball, boat, drop, THINGS | Tags: dropped the ball, expressions, Hues Corporation, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, missed the boat, rock the boat, words 6 CommentsThis is a terrific congruent conflation of “missed the boat” and “dropped the ball”, both meaning to have made an error or mistake. Maybe the speaker was experiencing an earworm of that 1974 song “Rock the Boat” by the one hit wonder group Hues Corporation. In any event, this double whammy can be used to describe the mother of all mistakes. A big thanks to Marcia Riefer Johnston who sent this one in and is a new malaphor follower. By the way, she has a great website, http://writing.rocks. Check it out!
I was pounding the bushes
Posted: November 10, 2014 Filed under: pavement, pound | Tags: beat the bushes, congruent conflation, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, Our Mechanical Brain, pound the pavement, words Leave a commentThis is a wonderful congruent conflation of “beating the bushes” and “pounding the pavement”, both meaning to try very hard to achieve something. As the speaker said, “you’d think the alliteration would help me keep them straight”. I was actually pounding my bushes this weekend trying to dislodge all the leaves that had dropped on them. A big thanks to Peter from the blog “Our Mechanical Brain” for producing this great malaphor and passing it on! Check his blog out at Our Mechanical Brain
He is behind the gun
Posted: October 20, 2014 Filed under: ball, guns, THINGS | Tags: behind the eight ball, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, under the gun, words Leave a commentThis subtle malaphor is a mash up of “behind the 8 ball” (in trouble) and “under the gun” (under pressure). Both idioms are very similar in meaning. The context was facing a deadline, so the speaker probably meant under the gun. The words behind and under are similar in indicating location, which I think adds to the mix up. Many thanks to Senior Malaphor Hunter Mike Kovacs (note the title in caps).
You nailed that right on the head
Posted: September 24, 2014 Filed under: BODY PARTS, head, nail, THINGS | Tags: congruent conflation, expressions, hit the nail on the head, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, nailed it, words 4 CommentsThis one comes to us courtesy of CBS Sports. Mike Carey, the “CBS Officiating Expert” on the NFL, said this beauty during the Denver-Kansas City game. This is a congruent conflation of “hit the nail on the head” and “nailed it”, both meaning to do exactly the right thing. This is a particular good one, as it is subtle and combines phrases with the same meaning. Some of the confusion lies in the visual of hammering a nail on its head. It is similar to “You hit it right on the nail”, reported on 8/29/12 in this website. A big thank you to Mike Kovacs for reporting this one!
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