He’s just an old stick in the poke
Posted: March 10, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, slow poke, stick in the mud, words 2 CommentsThis beauty was uttered in response to someone asking the speaker why her husband didn’t come to a brunch. It is a mash up of “stick in the mud” (dull or old fashioned person) and “slow poke” (slow person). Thanks to Polly McGilvray for sending this one in!
They kept him instead of cutting him free
Posted: March 8, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: basketball, congruent conflation, cut him loose, expressions, Georgetown University, Hoyas, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, set him free, Tyler Adams, words Leave a commentMy wife is a big Georgetown University basketball fan. She was relating a story about Tyler Adams, a huge recruit a few years ago who subsequently was diagnosed with arrhythmia and could not play competitive basketball. Instead of dropping his scholarship, the University gave him a medical waiver. He stayed on the team and earned his degree. My wife said, “they kept him instead of cutting him free.” We looked at each other and realized it was a malaphor moment, and I wrote it down immediately so I wouldn’t forget (the good ones tend to fade away…). This is a congruent conflation of “cutting him loose” and “setting him free”, both meaning to let go. The link contains a very nice story of Adams and his final regular season game as a Hoya:
It went against the grain of salt
Posted: March 6, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: attorneys, expressions, go against the grain, grain of salt, humor language, lawyers, malaphor, malaphors, words 2 CommentsHe’s going for the gold ring
Posted: March 5, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: brass ring, expressions, going for the gold, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, words Leave a commentThis was heard on the tv show, Entertainment Tonight. It is a mash up of “going for the gold” (trying to achieve the best in an endeavor) and “pulling the brass ring” (getting an award or prize). Both involve obtaining an achievement and I can see someone mixing up a brass ring with a gold one. By the way, the term “brass ring”comes from the practice of giving a free ride to the person who succeeded in picking a ring out of a box while riding a merry-go-round. The brass ring goes to Jack Chandler for sending this one in!
You could have knocked me over with a spoon
Posted: March 3, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, gag me with a spoon, humor, knocked me for a loop, knocked me over with a feather, language, malaphor, malaphors, words Leave a commentIn the hospital after her husband’s procedure, the wife was recounting the story of how the doctor gave her some news and she exclaimed, “You could have knocked me over with a spoon!” This is an interesting one, as it mixes I think various sounds and idioms. Certainly the speaker intended to say “you could have knocked me over with a feather” (overcome with astonishment or surprise), and a similar meaning phrase is “knocked me for a loop”. Loop and spoon sound alike, which could have been the confusion. There is also the expression, “gag me with a spoon” (disgusted) which the speaker may have also been thinking about. Interestingly, an internet search of the phrase reveals hundreds of times this malaphor has been used, for example:
A big shout out to Daniel Mustard for sending this one in.
The snow day threw a loop into things
Posted: February 28, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, threw him for a loop, throw a monkey wrench in to the works, words Leave a commentThe speaker was giving a reason for postponing a task. This is a mash up of “throw a monkey wrench into the works” (cause problems for someone’s plans) and “throw (someone) for a loop” (cause surprise or confusion). “Throw” is the common denominator and probably led to the confusion. I must admit I act a little loopy on snow days. Thanks to Marcia Riefer Johnston for sending this one in!
This is still the land of the red, white, and blue
Posted: February 24, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: and blue, expressions, home of the brave, humor, John Ventimiglia, land of the free, language, Law and Order, malaphor, malaphors, Sopranos, three cheers for the red, white, words Leave a comment
We are going to close some ground
Posted: February 21, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: closing the gap, expressions, gaining ground, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, words 1 CommentThis very subtle malaphor was heard on a conference call. The speaker was indicating that the backlog was starting to get smaller. This is a mixture of “gaining ground” and “closing the gap”, both meaning to make progress. “Close in” might also be in the mix. From a quick internet search, this malaphor appears to be a common one. Thanks to Sandy Shultis for sending this one in!
Too many eggs spoil the soup
Posted: February 19, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, put all your eggs in one basket, too many cooks spoil the broth, words Leave a commentThe speaker was talking about limiting the number of people doing a particular function so it could work better. This appears to be a mix of “too many cooks spoil the broth” (too many people involved in an activity can ruin it) and “put all your eggs in one basket” (make everything dependent on one thing). Soup is also broth so I think that is where the word broth comes from. There is also egg soup which the speaker may have been thinking about. He may also have been simultaneously thinking how all the people involved were good eggs. A big thank you to Susan Edwards for hearing this one!
I’m getting the shaft end of the stick
Posted: February 15, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, getting the shaft, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, short end of the stick, words 2 CommentsDuring a game of spades, the speaker uttered this gem in response to receiving a bad hand. This is a mash up of “getting the shaft” (to be cheated or mistreated) and “the short end of the stick” (receiving the smaller or less desirable part). I particularly like this one, as short and shaft have the same number of letters and begin with sh. Also, a shaft is also part of a stick, such as hockey sticks. Perhaps this is a hockey expression (or should be?)? I say the speaker should have two minutes in the penalty box. A tip of the toque to Adam Jacob for hearing this one and sending it in!
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