That was your hip reaction
Posted: January 30, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, gut reaction, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, shooting from the hip, words Leave a commentAn employee recalled a decision his employer had made and uttered this nice mash up of “shooting from the hip” (to react quickly without thinking of the consequences) and “gut reaction” (a reaction to a situation based on feelings rather than a logical analysis). Both phrases involve an instinctual reaction rather than a carefully thought out one. Also gut and hip are three letter words, and are anatomical words as well, perhaps adding to the confusion. Then again, maybe the employer is just a real “hip” guy and reacts in an informed or in the know way? Thanks to Steve Grieme, Super Malaphor Hunter, for hearing this one and sharing it!
If you had a hip reaction to this post, you might want to read the book on malaphors, “He Smokes Like a Fish and other Malaphors”, available on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/dp/0692652205 It’s a real page burner!
We didn’t want to just jam them out in a fire hose
Posted: January 28, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: drink from a fire hose, expressions, humor, jam it down your throat, language, malaphor, malaphors, Politico, Sean Spicer, Trump, words Leave a commentThis is another beauty from Sean Spicer, Trump’s Press Secretary. At a news conference in response to a question about why President Trump has not undertaken all of the “day one” actions he had promised, Spicer replied that the administration did not want to “just jam them out in a fire hose.”
There is the dialogue: “Why not pursue all those on Day One, as he promised in a contract with the voters?” Spicer said the Trump administration doesn’t want to “just jam them out in a fire hose.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-sheepish-sean-spicer-shows-a-trump-white-house-with-some-capacity-for-shame/2017/01/23/9d9729bc-e1bb-11e6-a547-5fb9411d332c_story.html?utm_term=.2eb7c89ac076
This is a mash up of “jam (something) down (someone’s) throat” (to compel someone to accept something) and “drinking from a fire hose” (to be inundated by more of something than one is capable of handling). A big thanks to David Barnes for catching this one and sending it in!
She’s making money left and hand
Posted: January 26, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, left and right, making money hand over fist, malaphor, malaphors, words Leave a commentThis was overheard in a conversation. It is a mash up of “left and right” (everywhere) and “hand over fist” (for money to be exchanged very rapidly). Seems like the left brain might not know what the right brain is doing. A shout out to Sam Edelmann for hearing this one and passing it on!
To say Joe is excited is an under exaggeration
Posted: January 23, 2017 Filed under: WORD BLENDS | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, over exaggeration, overstatement, understatement, words, Yukon Men Leave a commentOn the Discovery Channel’s Yukon Men, Stan describes the excitement of son, Joey, about goose hunting: “To say Joe is excited is an under-exaggeration.” This is a nice word blend malaphor of “understatement”, “overstatement’, and “over exaggeration”. The latter is frowned on by some linguists as being redundant, but my research indicates it is a legitimate idiom, meaning wildly or excessively exaggerating. The recent kerfuffle on the audience numbers at the recent US inauguration is perhaps a good example. A big thanks to Nate Brogin for hearing this one and sending it in!
Let the cards lay where they fall
Posted: January 20, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment
He would have been driven out of this town on a stake
Posted: January 17, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: burn someone at the stake, Donald Trump, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, run out of town on a rail, Sean Spicer, This Week with George Stephanopoulos, words 2 CommentsOh my. This beauty was uttered by Sean Spicer, President-Elect Trump’s Press Secretary, talking on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos. Here is the context:
“If my boss at the time, Reince Priebus, had gotten the debate questions, and handed them off, he would have been driven out of this town on a stake, and Donald Trump would have been vilified.” http://64.147.104.30/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/312361-spicer-questions-if-clinton-should-be-punished-for-receiving
This is a mash up of “run out of town on a rail” (punish someone by public condemnation or ridicule) and “burn someone at the stake” (to chastise or denounce someone severely). “Head on a stake” might also be in the mix.
In case the Donald is reading, he should check out my “Politics” section on my website and in my book, “He Smokes Like a Fish and other Malaphors” (available on Amazon!). He will find malaphors uttered not only by himself but by other politicians, including Obama, McCain, and the unforgettable Herman Cain. @realDonaldTrump
I received this malaphor from two people at virtually the same time, a first on this website. So kudos to John Pekich and Mike Kovacs for hearing this one on the Sunday talk news shows and sending it to yours truly!
We really knocked it over the top this year!
Posted: January 17, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, knock it out of the park, language, malaphor, malaphors, over the top, words Leave a commentA speaker at a company conference was praising the company’s performance for the year. This is a nice mash up of “knock it out of the park” (do something successfully or an outstanding achievement) and “over the top” (having gained more than one’s goal). The phrase “knock it out of the park” seems to be a frequent source of malaphors. I have previously posted such gems as “we really nailed it out of the park” https://malaphors.com/2015/08/18/we-really-nailed-it-out-of-the-park/, “they blew it out of the park” https://malaphors.com/2012/10/27/they-blew-it-out-of-the-park/, and “I need to knock it out of the box” https://malaphors.com/2014/07/21/i-need-to-knock-it-out-of-the-box/. A big thanks to Rachel for hearing this one and passing it on!
They’re willing to go to the ends of the moon for you guys
Posted: January 10, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, go to the ends of the earth, humor, love you to the moon and back, malaphor, malaphors, words 1 CommentThis was overheard on a conference call. It is a nice mash up of “go to the ends of the earth” (pursue to the utmost limit) and I think “love you to the moon and back” (love you forever). “Promise the moon (to someone)” (to make extravagant promises) and “ask for the moon” (make outlandish request for something) might also be in the mix. Of course, the speaker might have said this literally, upping the ante on performing a task. Going to the ends of the earth is not enough. Kudos to Anthony Kovacs for hearing this one and sending it in to Malaphor Central.
You don’t need to go to the ends of the moon to get the book on malaphors. Just click to Amazon and type in the title, “He Smokes Like a Fish and other Malaphors“, and you can get this cheap but amusing book today!
Nobody in the audience even blinched
Posted: January 5, 2017 Filed under: WORD BLENDS | Tags: blinked, expressions, flinched, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, words 4 CommentsThis nice word blend of “blinked” and “flinched” was uttered in a unique conversation. My friend Martin Pietrucha, who contributed the 2016 malaphor of the year (MOTY) “give them a round of hand”, was telling his mother-in-law about his MOTY award, and said that after the guy made the “round of hand” remark nobody in the audience, besides Martin, even “blinched”. Not sure what a malaphor about a malaphor is called. It’s almost like seeing a double rainbow. Any ideas out there? Anyway, a big round of hand to Martin Pietrucha for blurting this one out.
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