My wife and I were discussing recent test results that were negative, and I blurted this one out. It is a mashup of “clean slate” (a fresh start) and “a clean bill of health” (a report confirming the absence of fault in a person or thing). This one reminds me of another malaphor I posted several years ago: https://malaphors.com/2017/10/26/you-should-start-over-and-get-a-fresh-slate/
Two friends were talking about a place that was once busy but is now nearly abandoned. This is another word blend congruent conflation (see prior post “nimwit”) of “wasteland” and “ghost town”, both referring to an abandoned or unused area, usually urban or industrial.
I have previoiusly discussed the difference between a portmanteau and a word blend malaphor but the above malaphor prompts me to repeat my discussion.
Word blends are types of malaphors and the website and books have many examples.
Someone asked me if my word blend malaphors are actually portmanteaus. I don’t think so. The main difference is that a portmanteau is an intentional word blend while a malaphor is unintentional. There are other differences:
A portmanteau is a combination of two (or more) words or morphemes, and their definitions, into one new word. A portmanteau word generally combines both sounds and meanings, as in smog, coined by blending smoke and fog. More generally, it may refer to any term or phrase that combines two or more meanings, for instance, the term “wurly” when describing hair that is both wavy and curly.
The word “portmanteau” was first used in this context by Lewis Carroll in the book Through the Looking-Glass (1871), in which Humpty Dumpty explains to Alice the coinage of the unusual words in Jabberwocky, where “slithy” means “lithe and slimy” and “mimsy” is “flimsy and miserable”. Humpty Dumpty explains the practice of combining words in various ways by telling Alice,
‘You see it’s like a portmanteau—there are two meanings packed up into one word.’
My single word blend malaphors are unconscious blends of words to make an unintentional new word. The word sounds or looks correct at first blush, but then on closer examination is incorrect. Examples include “Buckminster Palace” (Buckingham and Westminster, and/or possibly Buckminster Fuller) and “split-minute decision” (split second and last minute).
A special shout out to Kristen Ann for hearing this one and Anthony Kovacs for sending it in.
A YouTuber was describing a dumb politician and used this word. It is a word blend congruent conflation of “dimwit” and “nimrod”, both terms describing a stupid person.
The idiom “nimrod” doesn’t seem to be used often these days. The usage perhaps was first recorded in an 1836 letter from Robert E. Lee to a female friend. Lee describes a “young nimrod from the West”, who in declining an appointment to West Point expressed the concern that “I hope my country will not be endangered by my doing so.” Although Lee may have been sarcastically referring to the student as a “tyrant or skillful hunter”, the modern usage more closely fits his message. The usage is often said to have been popularized by the Looney Tunes cartoon character Bugs Bunny sarcastically referring to the hunter Elmer Fudd as “nimrod” to highlight the difference between “mighty hunter” and “poor little Nimrod”, i.e. Fudd. However, it is in fact Daffy Duck who refers to Fudd as “my little Nimrod” in the 1948 short “What Makes Daffy Duck“, although Bugs Bunny does refer to Yosemite Sam as “the little Nimrod” in the 1951 short “Rabbit Every Monday“.
A big shout out to Verbatim for hearing this one and sending it in.
On a conference call involving a complex topic, one of the attendees did not fully understand. He then said to the subject matter expert, “I need to connect with you next week, and I’m gonna want to pick your ear on this”. This is a conflation of “pick (one’s) brain” (ask one questions to obtain detailed information or advice) and “bend (one’s) ear” (to talk to someone for a long time, usually causing them to be annoyed). I can’t help but think that when the speaker said “pick” the idiom “prick up (one’s) ears” (to pay sudden close attention to something) came to mind, creating the jumble. Also, the ear and the brain are in close proximity so it may have been a visual mixup as well.
Caution: ear picking may pose health hazards to the human ear. Please be careful out there.
A big thanks to Andy Jacobs for hearing this one and sending it in!
This one comes from the tv reality series, “Survivor”. Jeff Kent, who was a Major League baseball player, was also a contestant on the show “Survivor: Philippines”. At Tribal Council, there was a discussion about people who could be voted out, and Kent said, “my name has been thrown under the hat”. This appears to be a triple conflation of “throw (one) under the bus” (to harm one through deceit or treachery), “throw (one’s) name around” (to mention casually the name of someone important to impress others), and “throw your hat into the ring” (announce that you will be competing for something).
For you baseball fans, Kent hit 351 home runs as a second baseman, the most in MLB history in either league; he is one of only two second baseman to hit 300 home runs at the position of second base.
A big thanks to Steve Hubbard for hearing this one and sending it in!
The contributor was talking with one of his attorneys about an issue that perhaps could be avoided. The attorney said that if it was addressed in a certain way that “we could sideskirt the issue” in the decision. This is a word blend congruent conflation of “sidestep” and “skirt”, both meaning to attempt to ignore or avoid dealing with something or someone (a big thanks to Jen for pointing out “sidestep” in the blend).
Word blends are types of malaphors and the website and books have many examples.
Someone asked me if my word blend malaphors are actually portmanteaus. I don’t think so. The main difference is that a portmanteau is an intentional word blend while a malaphor is unintentional. There are other differences:
A portmanteau is a combination of two (or more) words or morphemes, and their definitions, into one new word. A portmanteau word generally combines both sounds and meanings, as in smog, coined by blending smoke and fog. More generally, it may refer to any term or phrase that combines two or more meanings, for instance, the term “wurly” when describing hair that is both wavy and curly.
The word “portmanteau” was first used in this context by Lewis Carroll in the book Through the Looking-Glass (1871), in which Humpty Dumpty explains to Alice the coinage of the unusual words in Jabberwocky, where “slithy” means “lithe and slimy” and “mimsy” is “flimsy and miserable”. Humpty Dumpty explains the practice of combining words in various ways by telling Alice,
‘You see it’s like a portmanteau—there are two meanings packed up into one word.’
My single word blend malaphors are unconscious blends of words to make an unintentional new word. The word sounds or looks correct at first blush, but then on closer examination is incorrect. Examples include “Buckminster Palace” (Buckingham and Westminster, and/or possibly Buckminster Fuller) and “split-minute decision” (split second and last minute).
A big thanks to John Kooser for hearing this one and sending it in!
The submitter’s wife was talking about one of her friends who was “giving her the cold finger”. This is a mashup of “give (one) the finger” (to treat one poorly or display contempt for someone) and “give someone the cold shoulder” (to snub someone). The “cold finger” might be the ultimate snub. A big thanks to Jim Weil for sending this one in!
This is a conflation of “something to prove” (need to display and confirm one’s abilities to others who are doubtful) and “have a chip on (one’s) shoulder” (have an attitude or sensitive about something that happened in the past). Reminds me of the Animal House movie scene where Pinto has the devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other. A big shout out to John Costello for spotting this one and sending it in. As he said, a nice way to start the football season!
On the podcast “All In with Chris Hayes”, Hayes is talking about Kamala Harris’ campaign for President. You can hear him saying “this campaign has shot out of a rocket” at 25:20 in the podcast:
This is a congruent conflation of “take off like a rocket” and “shot out of a cannon”, both meaning something or someone moving rapidly into some position or status. It’s a nice mix of weaponry. A big thanks to Frank King for hearing this one and sending it in!
Malaphors 
Recent Comments