I always like to give people the shadow of the doubt
Posted: February 10, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: benefit of the doubt, beyond a shadow of a doubt, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, words Leave a commentAlbie, a malaphor follower, overheard one of his friends in conversation talking about someone who they thought was lying to them. He said “Now, I always like to give people the shadow of the doubt, but…” This is a mash up of “benefit of the doubt” (a judgment in one’s favor when neither the evidence is for or against one) and “without (or beyond) a shadow of a doubt” (without the smallest of doubt). Certainly the word “doubt” used in each phrase and as a noun contributed to the mix up. For me, giving the shadow of the doubt conjures up the Reagan expression, “trust but verify”. A big thank you to Albie for sending this one in!
She hit the goldpot
Posted: February 8, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, hit the jackpot, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, pot of gold, strike gold, words 1 CommentThis was overheard in a conversation recently. It is a nice congruent conflation of “struck gold” and “hit the jackpot”, both meaning to become rich. Perhaps a little leprechaun and his pot o’ gold were in the speaker’s mind as well. A big thanks to Katie Hatfield for sharing this one.
He got the raw end of the stick
Posted: January 19, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Baltimore Sun, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, Rasheed Sulaimon, raw deal, short end of the stick, words Leave a commentThis gem comes from an interview with former Duke turned Maryland basketball player Rasheed Sulaimon’s mother. She was discussing his dismissal from the team:
I can do a pre-hearing statement off the fly
Posted: January 18, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: congruent conflation, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, off the cuff, on the fly, words Leave a commentThis beauty was spoken by a confident attorney prior to a hearing. It is a congruent conflation of “on the fly” and “off the cuff”, both meaning to do something quickly and without thinking carefully before they do it. Mixing “on” and “off” is certainly a part of this malaphor, and perhaps “fly” and “cuff”, as both can be articles of clothing? Using “off” instead of “on” actually makes more sense as an airplane “flies off” to somewhere. “Fly off” means to go in a hurry, similar to the meaning of this malaphor. The speaker perhaps just inverted the words “fly” and “off”. A big thanks to Sam Edelmann for hearing his one and passing it along.
Stick with your guts and get it done
Posted: January 15, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, go with your gut, humor, John Kasich, language, malaphor, malaphors, stick to your guns, stick to your ribs, words Leave a commentThis one is hot off the press, having been uttered in last night’s GOP debate by Governor John Kasich. It is a mash up of “stick to your guns” (remain firm in your convictions) and “go with your gut” (trust your feelings when making a decision). The similar sounding words “guts” and “guns” probably contributed to the confusion. Also food sometimes “sticks to your ribs” and so stick and guts might seem to go together. A big thanks to Steve Grieme for hearing this one and passing it on in real Malaphor time.
It hit me like a brick wall
Posted: January 11, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, hit a wall, hit me like a ton of bricks, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, words 1 CommentThe speaker was talking about how difficult a final exam was. Given the context, this is a mash up of “hit me like a ton of bricks” (to surprise or shock someone) and “hit a wall” (coming up against an insurmountable obstacle). The exam must have been difficult and a surprise! The confusion is obvious: both expressions contain the word “hit” and certainly walls can be made of bricks. The expression “hit a wall” is also sometimes stated “hit a brick wall”, making the two expressions have even more commonality. Perhaps the speaker is a Pink Floyd fan as well. A big thanks to Adam Jacob for hearing this one and passing it on.
Watch my words
Posted: January 7, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mark my words, read my lips, watch my lips, words 1 CommentBoomer Esiason said this one on the NFL pre-game show last week. It is a nice congruent conflation of “mark my words” and “read (or watch) my lips”, both meaning to pay attention or listen very carefully. This is similar to last February’s malaphor, “read my words”, involving the same mash-up. https://malaphors.com/2015/02/13/read-my-words-houston-does-not-get-out-of-the-first-round-this-year/. Both malaphors harken back to the George H.W. Bush era – “Read my lips. No new taxes.” A big thanks to that frequent malaphor contributor Steve Grieme!
Something really struck out.
Posted: December 29, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, struck me, stuck out, words Leave a comment
I just dozed out for a second
Posted: December 21, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: dozed off, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, words expressions, zoned out 1 CommentThe speaker was indicating she actually wasn’t asleep. This is a mash up of “dozed off” (fall into a light sleep) and “zoned out” (to lose concentration or become inattentive). The confusion seems to lie in the words off and out, and the letter z both in zone and doze. A big thanks to Becca Christine for saying this one and Kevin Hatfield for passing it on!
The RNC has to thread the line carefully when dealing with Trump
Posted: December 15, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Donald Trump, expressions, humor, Katy Tur, language, malaphor, malaphors, MSNBC, RNC, thread the needle, walk a fine line, words Leave a commentThis gem was overheard on MSNBC. Correspondent Katy Tur was commenting on the Republican National Committee (RNC) walking a tight rope with respect to Donald Trump, and ended by uttering this malaphor. It is a congruent conflation of “thread the needle” and “walk a fine line”, both meaning to strike a balance between conflicting or different forces. Perhaps she was thinking of threading a fishing line? A big thank you to Louis Mande for hearing this one and passing it along.
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