I’ve got some tricks under my sleeve
Posted: February 19, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, malaphors, MasterChef, mixed idioms, words 2 CommentsA contestant on the show MasterChef was talking about making a comeback after having failed in the previous round. This is a subtle mashup of “tricks up (one’s) sleeve” (a secret plan, idea, or advantage) and “under (one’s) belt” (in one’s scope of experience). “Under my hat” (secret) might also be in the mix, considering that a magician likes to produce the trick where a rabbit comes out of a hat. Kudos to Anthony Kovacs for hearing this one!
I cried my ass off
Posted: February 17, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: CJ Gardner-Johnson, expressions, humor, malaphors, mixed idioms, Philadelphia Eagles, Super Bowl, words Leave a commentThis one was found in the Philadelphia Inquirer (but you can also hear it on YouTube replays of the speeches) regarding highlights of the Super Bowl victory party in Philadelphia. Safety CJ Gardner-Johnson, in his speech at the party, talked about how he left and went to Detroit and then came back. He said when he left “I cried my ass off.” This is a conflation of “cried my eyes out” (cried very hard) and “played/worked my ass off” (played/worked very hard). Here is the article:
Many thanks to Linda Bernstein for spotting this beauty and sending it in!
Sorry to break the beans
Posted: February 12, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, words Leave a commentThis one was said by a co-worker at work. It is an alliterative mashup of “spill the beans” (give away a secret or surprise) and “break the news” (to reveal something, often that is bad or upsetting). I can’t help think that the speaker was thinking of “breaking wind” (farting) when “beans” floated to the mental surface. And maybe “break the bank”. Props to Elly Pietrucha for hearing this one and “passing” it on.
One Trick Mind
Posted: February 8, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, malaphors, mixed idioms, words Leave a commentOverheard on the subway. Two coworkers were speaking about a third coworker whom they seemed to not think highly of. While some might say this is a malaprop (“trick” for “track”), I think it is a bonafide malaphor, mixing “one track mind” (hyper-focused) and “one trick pony” (having limited skills). A shout out to regular malaphor contributor Verbatim for sharing this one!
Sharp as a whistle
Posted: February 5, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, words Leave a commentA grandmother was talking about her granddaughter, describing her as “sharp as a whistle”. This is a mashup of “sharp as a tack” (very clever or intelligent) and “clean as a whistle” (completely, entirely, or very neat). Perhaps she is smart and super clean? The malaphor is similar to a previous posting, “tight as a whistle”. https://malaphors.com/2022/03/14/security-is-tight-as-a-whistle/
A big thanks to Sam Edelmann who heard this one and passed it along!
They won by a long margin
Posted: February 3, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, incongruent conflation, malaphors, mixed idioms, words Leave a commentOverheard in a doctor’s waiting room. A game show was on tv and one of the patients shouted this mashup at the tv. This is an incongruent conflation (two idioms with opposite meanings) of “by a long shot” (something that has a very small chance of succeeding) and “by a wide margin” (by a large amount). Incongruent conflations are rare. So, a huge shoutout to Anthony Kovacs for hearing this one and sending it in!
On the edge of very thin ice
Posted: January 31, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, malaphors, mixed idioms, The Rookie, words Leave a commentThe Rookie, Season 7, episode 3. The precinct captain was chastising two rookie officers who disregarded commands from their superiors, yet still saved the day. Doesn’t seem intentional. This is a congruent conflation of “on the edge” and “on thin ice”, both meaning to get precariously close to danger. A big thanks to Verbatim for hearing this one!
We’re all in the same shoes
Posted: January 27, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, Trump, words Leave a commentOn a conference call, federal employees were discussing how Trump’s executive orders would affect them. One of them uttered this mashup of “in the same boat” (in the same situation or sharing the same problem) and “in someone else’s shoes” (experiencing or seeing something from someone else’s point of view). This one reminds me of the 2017 Malaphor of the Year, “Welcome to my shoes”. https://malaphors.com/2017/01/02/welcome-to-my-shoes/
A big thanks to Katie Norwood for hearing this one!
Gimme a joke!
Posted: January 16, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, Hegseth, humor, language, malaphors, Markwayne Mullin, mixed idioms, Trump, words 1 CommentAt the Senate confirmation hearing for Secretary of Defense, Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) was defending nominee Pete Hegseth, admonishing the Democrats for grandstanding and what he viewed as hypocrisy. After citing a few examples, he exclaimed, “Gimme a joke!”
This is a beautiful congruent conflation of “gimme a break!” and “what a joke!”, both expressions used to exasperation or disbelief. Many thanks to Daniel and to Mike Kovacs for sending this one in promptly.
Sowing roots
Posted: January 15, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Andrea Heckler, expressions, humor, idioms, malaphors, words 1 CommentThis incongruent conflation was uttered by Andrea Heckler in her podcast entitled “The Struggle to Settle Down”. As soon as she said “sowing roots” she caught herself, making it clearly unintentional and so it qualifies. You can hear the mashup at 8:32 of the podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoeJfViCtMI
This is a mix of “putting down roots” (settling down) and “sowing (one’s) oats” (engaging in rebellious behavior in one’s youth before settling down). As I mentioned, this is a rare incongruent conflation as it mixes two idioms with opposite meanings. It’s possible “sowing the seeds of (something)” (doing something that ensures an outcome in the future) is in the mix.
A big thanks to Pierre Abbat for hearing this one and sending it in.
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