It holds much weight
Posted: March 6, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: carries weight, expressions, holds water, humor, Jeremy Bash, language, malaphor, MSNBC, words Leave a commentJeremy Bash uttered this one the other night on the Malaphor channel, MSNBC. It is a mashup of “carries much weight” (to wield importance or influence) and “holds water” (stands up to critical examination). A subtle and commonly used malaphor. Props to Frank King for hearing this one.
Tie the tea leaves together
Posted: March 5, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, Here and Now, humor, language, malaphor, Mueller, NPR, read the tea leaves, tie it all together, Trump, words Leave a comment.This was heard on NPR’s “Here and Now” show. A pundit was talking about trying to predict what the Mueller investigation report will be like, based on all the information that has been released so far. It is a mashup of “reading the tea leaves” (predicting on little bits of information) and “tie it all together” (finish it up neatly). “Tie up loose ends” (resolve some issues at the end that are not critical) might also be in the mix. Tea leaves seem to confuse folks. Previous malaphors have included “reading between the tea leaves” https://malaphors.com/2017/03/27/reading-between-the-tea-leaves/ and “read between the tea lines” https://malaphors.com/2019/01/24/i-wish-i-could-read-between-the-tea-lines/. A tip of the hat to John Costello for hearing this one!
I know this is not everyone’s dish of tea
Posted: February 26, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: cup and saucer, dish it out, expressions, humor, malaphor, Morning Joe, not one's cup of tea, William Weld, words 6 CommentsWilliam Weld, former Massachusetts governor, uttered this one on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, when he introduced the topic of climate change. This is a mashup of “not one’s cup of tea” (not one’s preference) and maybe “dish it out” (to dispense something, often verbally)? Or was the speaker just thinking of “cup and saucer” and got the two confused? No one knows except Mr. Weld, and perhaps he doesn’t either. On that note, I think I’ll have a “disha”. A big thanks to two people who heard this one and sent it in almost simultaneously: David Stephens and Donna Calvert. Thanks David and Donna!
They would jump on a bullet for him
Posted: February 25, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: congruent conflation, expressions, fall on a grenade, funny, humor, idioms, malaphor, take a bullet for, Trump, words Leave a commentThis was uttered when discussing the blind loyalty of Trump supporters. It is a congruent conflation of “take a bullet for (someone)” and “falling (or jumping) on a grenade for (someone)”, both meaning to accept a personally harmful or sacrificial task to protect someone else. Jumping on a bullet doesn’t seem like a great sacrifice to me, so perhaps this speaker was not such a loyal follower. A big thanks to John Kooser for hearing this one.
The Manafort situation throws the whole incentive system on its head
Posted: February 11, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Berit Berger, Brian Williams, humor, language, malaphor, out the window, turn on its head, words Leave a commentColumbia Law School professor Berit Berger uttered this one on the MSNBC show “The 11th Hour with Brian Williams”. She was discussing the pardon system and the Manafort case. This is a mashup of “turn (something) on its head” (to alter something in an unexpected way) and “throw it out the window” (forgotten, disregarded). “Turning” and “throwing” seems to have caused the mixup here. A big thanks to Frank King for hearing this one.
Is it “Defend On Your Own” night?
Posted: February 8, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, fend for yourself, malaphor, malaphors, stand on your own two feet, words 7 CommentsThe contributor says her husband says this when she doesn’t feel like cooking for dinner. The malaphor prompts a visual of the family opening the refrigerator and fighting for the best leftovers. This is a mashup of “stand on one’s (own) two feet” (act independently) and “fend for (oneself)” (take care of oneself without the assistance of others). I suppose the speaker was thinking of the word “fend” but uttered “defend” instead. A tip of the hat to Lori Snider for sending this one in!
My hackles were ruffled
Posted: February 6, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: congruent conflation, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, raise my hackles, ruffle my feathers, words Leave a comment
I’m worried stiff
Posted: February 4, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Chris Hayes, humor, language, malaphor, MSNBC, scared stiff, wordplay, worried sick Leave a commentHeard on the MSNBC show with Chris Hayes. This is a conflation of “scared stiff” (utterly terrified) and “worried sick” (very concerned about a person or situation). I have heard this one a lot. “Sick” and “stiff” are similar sounding words, contributing to the mashup. A big thanks to Frank King for hearing this one!
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He tends to pull things out of his head
Posted: February 3, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, Matt Miller, MSNBC, off the top of his head, out of thin air, pulled a rabbit out of his hat, words Leave a commentHeard on MSNBC by Matt Miller, a former spokesperson for the Justice Department. He was talking about Rudy Giuliani and his off the cuff (“shoots off the cuff?”) remarks in interviews. This is a triple congruent conflation of “off the top of one’s head”, “pluck (something) out of thin air”, and “pull (something) out of a hat”, all meaning a random thought. “Head” and “hat” get confused a lot and that’s what appears to have happened here. As you know, the usual thing pulled out of a hat is a rabbit. As “my ol’ pal” notes, tThe more usual metaphor nowadays is “pull things out of his ass” (making things up) which is probably closer to the meaning of what Matt Miller was trying to convey about Giuliani. For obvious reasons he probably substituted “head” for “ass” at the last second. Thus the birth of this malaphor.
Smart as a tack
Posted: February 1, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, malaphors, sharp as a tack, smart as a whip, wordplay, words Leave a commentThis is an example of a perfectly formed malaphor. It is a congruent conflation (the best kind of malaphor, imho) of “smart as a whip” and “sharp as a tack”, both describing someone as highly intelligent. Smart and sharp are similar sounding words, and both idioms contain the “as a” words. Also, if you sit on a tack, it does smart, doesn’t it? The mashup is also heard in the Adam Sandler movie, “Big Daddy”. Here’s the clip:
A big thanks to Martin Pietrucha who heard this one and sent it in.
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