How are you going?

A friend met up with his buddy to take their daily walk and he blurted out this salutation. It is a mashup of “How are you doing?” and “How’s it going?” This one may sound familiar, as it is spoken frequently. Malaphors sometimes just involve a substitute of one tiny word in a phrase. A tip of the hat to Martin Pietrucha for saying this one unintentionally and promptly sending it in.

In my research of this phrase, I found out that it is an accepted idiom in Australia – “How ya goin’?” So it’s not a malaphor in the Land Down Under. For the record, Mr. Pietrucha is not Australian.

I’m too good for my britches

A wonderful Thanksgiving dinner was prepared – turkey with stuffing, candied yams with marshmallows, green beans in French fried onion topping, mashed potatores, gravy, pies, etc. Despite her usual humility, the cook exclaimed, “I’m too good for my britches!” This is a mashup of “too big for my britches” (conceited, self-important) and maybe “too good for this world” (exceptionally selfless, kind). Perhaps “as good as it gets” (impossible to improve upon) given the context, or even “too good to be true” (to be so exciting as to be unbelievable). A big thanks(giving) to Patti Tomai Palladino for uttering this beauty and Skip Kennedy for sending it in!

That’s right on spot

This was overheard at a conference. An official was giving a pep talk to the attendees about the field they are in. It is a congruent conflation of “right on target” and “spot on”, both meaning being very accurate. Of course adding a comma makes this a nice compliment to your dog. Kudos to Martin Pietrucha for hearing this one and sending it in.

It rattled a few feathers

Former NHL coach Rick Bowness was interviewed on the Cam and Strick Podcast Show and uttered this nice malaphor at 2:24:18:

It is a congruent conflation of “ruffling (someone’s) feathers” and “rattle someone’s cage”, both meaning to annoy or irritate someone. “Feathers” and “cages” are linked together which may have caused the confusion. A tip of the hat to Will for spotting this one and sending it in!

Count your prayers

This was unintentionally said by the contributor. It is a mashup of “count your blessings” (appreciate the good things in life) and maybe “say your prayers” (to make a humble request) or perhaps “keep you in my prayers” (needs are being considered). “Prayers” and “blessings” go together so the mashup is a subtle one and my guess a commonly spoken one. Kudos to Katie Mikalis for sending this one in!