Put that under your hat and smoke it

On her podcast, Roseanne Barr was interviewing Scott Adams (Dilbert creator) (episode 11). She was talking about a solution to find common ground on a contentious issue. This is a mashup of “keep it under your hat” (keep something secret) and “put that in your pipe and smoke it” (take decisive information or decision and live with it). Here is the podcast:

A big thank you to Verbatim for hearing this one and sending it in!

They took their butts off the gas pedal

This weekend, a CBS college postgame host was talking about the Alabama Crimson Tide and how the team was not playing South Florida tough in the second half. He said that “they (Alabama) took their butts off the gas pedal.” Given the context, I think this is a mashup of “take (one’s) foot off the gas” (to do something with less effort and determination) and “sit on your butt” (to be idle, especially when action is needed). Both are close in meaning, as they describe less action or even inaction. Nice visual, given butts and gas.

A tip of the hat to Tom Simon for hearing this one and sending it in!

Defense has been a thorn in the Seahawks’ heel today

This one was uttered by Steve Raible, the Seattle Seahawks’ radio play by play announcer. He said this after the Rams had scored a field goal in the fourth quarter. This is a mashup of “a thorn in the side” (a constant or persistent source of annoyance) and “Achilles heel” (a weakness or vulnerable point). The mixture creates a nice expression describing a constant weakness. Thorns are apparently everywhere in the malaphor world, as I have posted previously “he’s definitely a thorn in the eye” (January 2022) and “it’s a thorn in the foot” (March 2013). https://malaphors.com/2022/01/22/hes-definitely-a-thorn-in-their-eye/ https://malaphors.com/2013/03/21/its-a-thorn-in-the-foot/

A big thank you to Lin Sewell for hearing this one and sending it in!

Moaning the blues

After the Steelers’ devastating loss, a friend said that fans will be “moaning the blues”. This is a congruent conflation of “singing the blues” and “moaning and groaning”, both meaning to complain or whine about something. A big thanks to John Kooser for unintentionally uttering this one and sending it.

This malaphor is also the title of a Hank Williams song, and here it is for your enjoyment:

Thrown under the rug

This was heard on WSB Tonight (11:00 pm news), Atlanta. A college student participant in a March for Transparency: “The Johnny Holloman story is not one that is new to the public, but it’s one that’s been thrown under the rug, so we’re trying to raise awareness…”

This is a mixture of “sweep it under the rug (or carpet)” (hide or ignore something) and “throw him under the bus” (sacrifice someone for personal gain).   It is similar to the 12/23/12 malaphor posting “brush it under the rug”.   The confusion seems to lie in action words such as sweep, brush, and throw.  Also there are “throw rugs”. And of course, many of us have thrown a few items under the rug when company came unannounced.  A big thank you to P.W. Tsuboi for hearing this one and sending it in!

It doesn’t mean we’re out of the woodwork yet

Carol Roth, author of “You Will Own Nothing”, was being interviewed by Megyn Kelly on The Megan Kelly Show. She’s talking about how the economy has not yet fully recovered, and says at one point, “but it doesn’t mean we’re out of the woodwork yet.”

This is a mashup of “not out of the woods yet” (have not yet escaped the danger) and “coming out of the woodwork” (appear unexpectedly or from unusual places). “Wood” and “out” are in both of the idioms, contributing to the mixup. You can hear the malaphor here:

https://podcasts.google.com/search/The%20Megyn%20Kelly%20Show

A big thanks to Verbatim for hearing this one and sending it in!

It’s coming to fruit

Neera Tanden, Director of the Domestic Policy Council, was talking with Chris Hayes (All In with Chris Hayes) about how the Democrats finally passed the measure of Medicare being able to negotiate drug prices. With Biden signing the bill, Tanden said “it’s coming to fruit.” This is a congruent conflation of “coming to fruition” and “bearing fruit”, both referring to something starting to succeed and producing the results that were intended. You can hear the malaphor on the podcast at 42:30 here:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/all-in-with-chris-hayes/id1314170606?i=1000626148345

Another tip of the hat to Frank King for hearing this one and sending it in. All In With Chris Hayes is a goldmine for malaphors!

Floating a dead balloon

On Ari Melber’s MSNBC show “The Beat”, former US attorney David Kelley was talking about Trump’s lawyers’ arguments to set a date for the insurrection trial in 2026. Kelley said that would be “floating a dead balloon”. Given the context, this is a mashup of “floating a trial balloon” (to propose something in order to get feedback on it) and “dead on arrival” (defunct in the very early stages). Of course, the mashup by itself makes sense as Kelley was describing something that was being proposed but was never going to be accepted. A big thanks to Mike Kovacs for hearing this one while at the same time planting a flower!

Test balloon

This one was heard on that malaphor filled show, All In with Chris Hayes. It is a mashup of “trial balloon” (a tentative execution of a plan to gauge the interest or approval of someone else, usually the public) and “acid test” (a decisive trial to determine worth or quality) or perhaps “litmus test” . “Test case” (a legal case which is used as an example for deciding other similar cases) might also be in the mix. The malaphor can be heard here:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/all-in-with-chris-hayes/id1314170606?i=1000625349738

A big thank you to Frank King for hearing this one and sending it in!

You left absolutely nothing out there

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted this about England’s women’s soccer team after they lost a heartbreaker in the finals of the World Cup. He was roundly mocked by his political opponents. See

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/gaffe-prone-rishi-sunak-mocked-30746066

They just don’t understand the omnipresence of malaphors. This is an incongruent conflation (a blend of opposite meaning idioms) of “leave it all out there” (to give one’s all when playing a game) and “leave nothing to be desired” (unsatisfactory or very inadequate). “Leave nothing to chance” (prepare for everything possible) may also be in the mix, given the PM’s intent here. A big thanks to Nick for catching this one and sending it in!