How did you turn the tide around?

During the Phoenix Suns/LA Clippers NBA playoff game, TNT Sideline reporter Chris Haynes asked Phoenix coach Monte Williams before the start of the 4th quarter how they “turned the tide around” when they were down 13 to go up 10. This is a congruent conflation of “turn the tide” and “turn around”, both meaning to change or reverse something dramatically. A big thanks to Bruce Ryan for catching this very subtle malaphor and sending it in!

You’re left out in the wind

A husband and wife were discussing a challenging situation at work with no easy answer and the wife said, “You’re kinda left out in the wind”. Both immediately recognized malaphor gold and sent this one in. It is a mashup of “twist in the wind” (to be left in a very difficult situation) and “leave (one) out in the cold” (to exclude). Those Pittsburgh winds can certainly be cold and perhaps that was on the speaker’s mind. A big thanks to Joanne Grieme for uttering this beauty and Steve Grieme for sending it in!

His mouth shot him in the foot

A commentator was talking about a politician who undermines himself by saying inopportune things. This appears to be a mashup of “put (one’s) foot in (one’s) mouth” (to unintentionally say something foolish) and “shoot (oneself) in the foot” (damage or impede one’s own plans). Foot and mouth disease might have been on the speaker’s mind. Who knows? Other idioms possibly contributing are “run off at the mouth” (talk too much), “mouth off” (speak without discretion) and “run (one’s) mouth” (talk too much). For some reason, this malaphor reminds me of the classic one uttered by Ann Richards at the 1988 Democratic Convention, when she referred to George H.W. Bush  as someone who was “born with a silver foot in his mouth”. A big thanks to Verbatim for hearing this one and passing it on.

Chewing the shit

This one was overheard in a conversation. The speaker was referring to small talk between two individuals. This is a classic congruent conflation of “chewing the fat” and “shooting the shit”, both meaning to talk in a leisurely, friendly manner. The picture this paints is not a good one, and I hope I didn’t ruin anyone’s weekend. A shout out to Dan Geier who uttered this one and immediately recognized it as a malaphor.

Did you like this mashup? There are tons more in my two books on malaphors, “He Smokes Like a Fish and other Malaphors” and “Things are Not Rosy-Dory”, both available on Amazon for really cheap! They make excellent additions to any bathroom library.

They hitched themselves to this ship that might be going down

On Nicole Wallace’s show Deadline: White House, the Reverend Al Sharpton was talking about Republicans who were standing up for Trump, and then he uttered this malaphor. It is a mashup of “hitch (one’s) wagon to a star” (to pursue a lofty goal for oneself by partnering with someone who is revered) and “desert/leave a sinking ship” (leave a situation where failure is imminent). As the contributor of this malaphor said, Sharpton realized that by saying “ship” instead of “star,” he had to make a quick save.

A tip of the hat to “my ol’ pal” Beatrice Zablocki for hearing this one and sending it in.

Flushing Twitter down the sink

This was the headline in a Raw Story quoting a top news tech site, TechCrunch. It is a congruent conflation of “flushed down the tubes/toilet” and “down the drain/sink”, both meaning to have failed. Here is the link:

https://www.rawstory.com/elon-musk-twitter-2659673403/

Many thanks to Tom Justice, who spotted this one and pondered poetically that the author might have been thinking of “flushing Twitter down the shitter”. Brilliant!

Plus or give 15 minutes

The contributor of this one said it, talking about the time. It was “eight thirty, plus or give 15 minutes.” This is an excellent example of a congruent conflation (blend of two idioms with the same or similar meaning), combining “plus or minus” and “give or take”, both suggesting an exact number may be below or above the estimated amount. A big thanks to curioussteph for sending this one in.

We’re not addressing the elephants under the carpet

Dr. Jordan Peterson, a Canadian psychologist, was talking on a podcast about Muslims and Christians, and uttered this nice malaphor.

https://youtu.be/gqS1ov4lSI0

It is a mashup of “the elephant in the room” (an obvious problem that no one wants to discuss) and “under the carpet” (keep secret or hidden from view). Malaphor followers will know that for some reason elephants are involved in many malaphors. I devoted a chapter to them in my book “He Smokes Like a Fish and other Malaphors”, which is available on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0692652205

A big thanks to Will Lloyd for hearing this one and sending it in.

Firing all the bullets in our quiver

This one was heard on the podcast The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell on March 15. Eddie Fishman, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, was talking about the oil sanctions against Russia and that more could be done, saying “I don’t think we are firing all the bullets in our quiver.” This is a mashup of “arrows in our quiver” (options or alternatives available), “silver bullet” (a seemingly simple solution to a complicated problem) and “firing on all cylinders” (function at a peak level of performance). There is a lot of mixed weaponry in this malaphor.

You can hear this malaphor at 34:27 here:

https://topnewsshow.com/the-last-word-with-lawrence-odonnell-3-15-23/

A big thanks to Frank King for hearing this one and sharing it.

He has gotten under his craw

Another one heard on the podcast All In with Chris Hayes. Michael Steele, subbing for Hayes, was talking to George Conway about the Trump hush money case and that the D.A. has “gotten under his (Trump’s) craw”. This is a congruent conflation of “stick in (one’s) craw” and “get under (one’s) skin”, both idioms meaning to irritate or displease someone. This malaphor can be heard at the 20:32 mark:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/all-in-with-chris-hayes/id1314170606?i=1000605659029

Another tip of the toque to Frank King for hearing this one. Frank is top of the notch! Frank is known as the Mental Health Comedian, and appears on TED talks, cruise ships, you name it. Here’s a podcast where he was interviewed that I think you will find interesting: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mental-health-comedian-with-frank-king/id1451413064?i=1000447263149