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If you hear or see a malaphor, please let me know by dropping a comment on the website.  Please include who said it and/or where you heard/saw it.


746 Comments on “Contact”

  1. verbatim's avatar verbatim says:

    “Pulls at every thread in this house of cards”

    (About 3:20 mark) Emily Jashinsky talking about fallout from Billie Eilish’s Grammy comment about “stolen land”. The Tongva tribe has shown evidence that Ms. Eilish’s multi-million dollar home sits on their tribal land.

    Seems to be combination of: “pull at a thread” – cause a situation to become unstable, and “house of cards” – unstable situation.

    • verbatim's avatar verbatim says:

      Pull on a thread also means to investigate and expose a secret.

    • davemalaphor's avatar davemalaphor says:

      I believe this is a mixed metaphor (string of two or more incompatible metaphors that produce a ridiculous result (eg., this tower of strength will forge ahead) as opposed to a malaphor, which is a blend of two or more idioms or metaphors. I don’t see a blend here.

  2. Frozen Cusser's avatar Frozen Cusser says:

    Two recent ones that we found at work and recorded the white pages in the back of the copy of “He Smokes Like a Fish” we keep handy:”Crying Fire” – a mix of “Crying wolf” and “Yelling fire”. The speaker intended the “Crying wolf” meaning but had a mis-fire.

    “Put my shoes in his head” – a mix of “Get in his head” and “walk a mile in his shoes” both phrases meaning to try to understand the way another person is thinking.

  3. davemalaphor's avatar davemalaphor says:

    These are both excellent. Both unintentionally said, correct? If so, may I post and give you props? Dave

    • Frozen Cusser's avatar Frozen Cusser says:

      Indeed. Both were unintentional. My unnamed coworker that said the first one was disappointed in himself that something he said landed in the book.Please use them.


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