We were under the opinion that….
Posted: November 7, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: congruent conflation, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, of the opinion, under the impression, words 2 CommentsThis very subtle congruent conflation was heard in the episode “Deadly Disappearance” on the Series “Blood, Lies, and Alibis”. It is a mash up of “under the impression” and “of the opinion”. A big thanks to Laszlo Veres for spotting this one. He has ears like a hawk.
You better fiddle for your supper
Posted: October 27, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, fiddle while Rome burns, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, sing for your supper, words Leave a commentThis strange advice was overheard at a bus stop by Jack Chandler. I believe this is a mash up of “fiddle while Rome burns” (to do nothing or something trivial while something disastrous is happening) and “sing for your supper” (to do something in order to receive something). Perhaps the speaker was thinking of the roaming violinist in some Italian restaurant or strolling strings at a banquet. For some reason the malaphor reminds me of that John Denver song, Thank God I’m a Country Boy:
Well I got me a fine wife, I got me ol’ fiddle
When the sun’s comin’ up I got cakes on the griddle
And life ain’t nothin’ but a funny funny riddle
Thank God I’m a country boy
Thanks to Jack Chandler for sending this one in.
At least you went down guns loaded, or guns blown, whatever.
Posted: October 12, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Buffalo Bills, EJ Manuel, espn, expressions, guns blazing, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, went down fighting, words Leave a commentSince it is NFL football Sunday, I thought I would share this nice little malaphor uttered by the Buffalo Bills quarterback, EJ Manuel. After being benched in favor of Kyle Orton, he made it clear that he wants another chance.
“You don’t worry about the repercussions. If something happens, at least you went down guns loaded, or guns blown, whatever. You just go out there and let it rip. That’s what I’ve been practicing out there this week, against our defense, so just allowing myself to go out and make plays naturally.”
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11629515/ej-manuel-buffalo-bills-says-wants-different-player
This is a mash up of “went down fighting” and “go down with guns blazing”, both meaning putting up a fight. The malaphor results in exactly the opposite meaning – went down with guns loaded, i.e., did not put up a fight. The “whatever” perhaps was an exasperated searching in his mind for the correct idiom. That happens to me a lot. Whatever. A big thanks to John Costello for hearing this one and passing it along. The sports world comes through again!
We are not on the edge of the curve with technology
Posted: October 8, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: ahead of the curve, congruent conflations, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, on the cutting edge, words Leave a commentThe speaker described himself and his wife as not very tech savvy and then said this nice malaphor. It is is a congruent conflation of “cutting edge” and “ahead of the curve”, both meaning to be in front of others. Being on the edge of the curve seems pretty precarious to me. Thanks to Steve Hubbard for sending this one in!
Everything’s up to snuff in Kansas City
Posted: October 4, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: everything's up to date in Kansas City, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, musicals, Oklahoma, up to snuff, words Leave a commentOkay, you’re all saying – this is not a malaphor! I contend it is, and since I am the Malaphor King, I choose to post it. The mix comes from the title of a song in the broadway musical “Oklahoma!” – “Everything’s up to date in Kansas City” – and the phrase “up to snuff” (as good as required). This was uttered by a guy in the theater business (makes sense). Thanks to Sam Edelmann for passing this one along!
I’m no expert on this subject by any stretch of the means
Posted: September 21, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: blended idioms, by any means, by any stretch of the imagination, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, words 2 CommentsThis is a mash up of “by any stretch of the imagination” (as much as anyone could imagine) and “by any means” (by any way possible). Both phrases involve extremes, and share the words “by any”, hence the confusion. A salute to Barry Eigen (who by the way is a stretch of the nice) for hearing this one in a class and sharing it with us.
It blows the roof off my doors
Posted: September 17, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: blow the doors off, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, through the roof, words 3 CommentsThis seems to be a mash up of “blows the doors off” (very fast) and “hit the roof” (very angry). My ol’ pal says maybe “blows his lid”, which also means very angry. The context, however, was something exceeding expectations. which would indicate “go through the roof” (prices go exceedingly high) might be in play. A big thank you to Paul Brendel by way of Kevin Hatfield for reporting this one.
You’re too smart for your own britches
Posted: August 30, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, too big for your britches, too smart for your own good, words 2 CommentsThis wonderful congruent conflation is a mash up of “you’re too smart for your own good” and “too big for your britches”, both describing a haughty person. This is a fairly common malaphor, evidenced by the amount of internet hits using this phrase. Contributing to the confusion is the use of the word “too”. Thanks to Sheva Gunnery for hearing this subtle mix up and passing it on!
Why don’t we call and chew his brain?
Posted: August 26, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: chew the fat, expressions, humor, Justin Verlander, language, malaphor, malaphors, Matt harvey, mixed idioms, pick his brain, The Walking Dead, words, zombies Leave a commentNo, this is not a line from The Walking Dead (although maybe it is…). It is a nicely formed malaphor, shared by that malaphor hunter, John Costello. John was speaking to his wife about calling a handyman and this was her response. It is a mash up of “chew the fat” (to chat) and ” pick his brain” (talking with someone to get information about something). I particularly like this one as it conjures up an image that was not intended. This malaphor was also spoken by the pitcher Matt Harvey last year:
Harvey said he did not get a chance to chat with Justin Verlander when the ace made the visit to Port St. Lucie. But Terry Collins , who is close with Tigers manager Jim Leyland, indicated he’d like to make a conversation happen.
“Hopefully I’ll chew his brain a little bit down the road,” Harvey said. “I just sat back and watched.”
http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/61768/harvey-studied-verlander-before-facing-fish
They made this up out of whole air
Posted: August 25, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: blended idioms, dateline id, expressions, hot air, humor, into thin air, language, make something out of whole cloth, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, words 2 CommentsThis is a mash up of “make something out of whole cloth” (fabricate a lie) and “into thin air” (vanish without a trace). Thin and whole both describe size, which might contribute to the crossed wires. “Hot air” (not sincere with no practical results) might also be in the mix, as the speaker of this malaphor was a lawyer. Specifically, it was heard on “Dateline ID” with Lester Holt. A a defense attorney criticized the prosecution’s description of the accused as a Jekyll-Hyde personality, and then uttered this malaphor. A big thanks to my “ol’ pal”, Beatrice Zablocki for sending this one in.
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