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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.
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.
“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.
Pull on a thread also means to investigate and expose a secret.
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.
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.
These are both excellent. Both unintentionally said, correct? If so, may I post and give you props? Dave
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.
Heard at work: “Plant a breadcrumb.” A mix of ‘plant a seed’ and ‘leave a trail of breadcrumbs’.