He got the raw end of the stick

Posted: January 19, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This gem comes from an interview with former Duke turned Maryland basketball player Rasheed Sulaimon’s mother.  She was discussing his dismissal from the team:

“He’s not the type of kid who’s like, ‘I’m not in their program, so forget about them,'” Angela Sulaimon also told the Sun. “Friendship means a lot. He was very positive toward the guys he played with. They were like brothers. It had nothing to do with the guys. A lot of them felt like Rasheed got the raw end of the stick. I felt like Rasheed was sacrificed.”

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/terps/tracking-the-terps/bal-rasheed-sulaimon-s-mother-discusses-her-son-s-dismissal-from-duke-20151021-story.html
This is a mash up of “getting a raw deal” (unfair or bad treatment) and “getting the short end of the stick” (less desirable part).  Both phrases involve someone getting “the shaft”, so to speak.  I can see getting a raw deal or the short end of the stick but the raw end must really be bad.  This malaphor is similar to my 2/15/15 entry, “I’m getting the shaft end of the stick”, which might even be more painful.  https://malaphors.com/2015/02/15/im-getting-the-shaft-end-of-the-stick/   A big shout out to Justin Taylor who ran across this malaphor in the Baltimore Sun.

I can do a pre-hearing statement off the fly

Posted: January 18, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This beauty was spoken by a confident attorney prior to a hearing.  It is a congruent conflation of “on the fly” and “off the cuff”, both meaning to do something quickly and without thinking carefully before they do it.   Mixing “on” and “off” is certainly a part of this malaphor, and perhaps “fly” and “cuff”, as both can be articles of clothing?  Using “off” instead of “on” actually makes more sense as an airplane “flies off” to somewhere.  “Fly off” means to go in a hurry, similar to the meaning of this malaphor.  The speaker perhaps just inverted the words “fly” and “off”.   A big thanks to Sam Edelmann for hearing his one and passing it along.

Stick with your guts and get it done

Posted: January 15, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This one is hot off the press, having been uttered in last night’s GOP debate by Governor John Kasich.  It is a mash up of “stick to your guns” (remain firm in your convictions) and “go with your gut” (trust your feelings when making a decision).  The similar sounding words “guts” and “guns” probably contributed to the confusion.  Also food sometimes “sticks to your ribs” and so stick and guts might seem to go together.  A big thanks to Steve Grieme for hearing this one and passing it on in real Malaphor time.

It hit me like a brick wall

Posted: January 11, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The speaker was talking about how difficult a final exam was.  Given the context, this is a mash up of “hit me like a ton of bricks” (to surprise or shock someone) and “hit a wall” (coming up against an insurmountable obstacle).  The exam must have been difficult and a surprise!  The confusion is obvious: both expressions contain the word “hit” and certainly walls can be made of bricks.  The expression “hit a wall” is also sometimes stated “hit a brick wall”, making the two expressions have even more commonality.  Perhaps the speaker is a Pink Floyd fan as well.  A big thanks to Adam Jacob for hearing this one and passing it on.

Watch my words

Posted: January 7, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Boomer Esiason said this one on the NFL pre-game show last week.  It is a nice congruent conflation of “mark my words” and “read (or watch) my lips”, both meaning to pay attention or listen very carefully.  This is similar to last February’s malaphor, “read my words”, involving the same mash-up.  https://malaphors.com/2015/02/13/read-my-words-houston-does-not-get-out-of-the-first-round-this-year/.  Both malaphors harken back to the George H.W. Bush era – “Read my lips.  No new taxes.”  A big thanks to that frequent malaphor contributor Steve Grieme!

You’re pretty well-grounded

Posted: January 5, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: WORD BLENDS | Tags: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

This a nice malaphor word blend of “grounded” (sensible) and “well-rounded” (having desirably varied abilities).  Perhaps the speaker meant to meld the two meanings into a new word, but probably just mixed rounded and grounded, which is easy to do.  A big thanks to my cousins from Down Under, Manny Manatakis for uttering this gem and Gemma Martinez for hearing it and passing it on.

Something really struck out.

Posted: December 29, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
This was spoken by Pitkin County (Colorado) Deputy District Attorney Andrea Bryan on the CBS program 48 Hours in reference to a piece of evidence in the murder investigation of Aspen, CO socialite Nancy Pfister.   It is a mash up of “stuck out” (noticable) and “struck me” ((come to mind suddenly).  Kudos to that Merry Malaphor Maniac, Mike Kovacs, who said that nobody “struck out” on the recording and reporting of this gem.

I just dozed out for a second

Posted: December 21, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The speaker was indicating she actually wasn’t asleep.  This is a mash up of “dozed off” (fall into a light sleep) and “zoned out” (to lose concentration or become inattentive).  The confusion seems to lie in the words off and out, and the letter z both in zone and doze.   A big thanks to Becca Christine for saying this one and Kevin Hatfield for passing it on!

The RNC has to thread the line carefully when dealing with Trump

Posted: December 15, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This gem was overheard on MSNBC.  Correspondent Katy Tur was commenting on the Republican National Committee (RNC) walking a tight rope with respect to Donald Trump, and ended by uttering this malaphor.  It is a congruent conflation of “thread the needle” and “walk a fine line”, both meaning to strike a balance between conflicting or different forces.  Perhaps she was thinking of threading a fishing line?  A big thank you to Louis Mande for hearing this one and passing it along.

Katy Tur Twitter Avatar

We are only seeing one side of this iceberg

Posted: December 13, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Marykathryn has done it again.  She was discussing a very contentious legal case with her husband.  The more they dug the more they found out about their client.  She finally turned to her husband and said,  ” Honey, we are only seeing one side of this iceberg”.   This is a mash up of “the tip of the iceberg” (a small part of something much larger) and I think “the dark side (of someone)” (the negative and hidden aspect of someone), given the context.   This is the second malaphor referring to icebergs.  See “we’ve barely scratched the tip of the iceberg” (9/19/13).  https://malaphors.com/2013/01/19/we-barely-scratched-the-tip-of-the-iceberg/   A big thank you to Marykathryn Kopec who keeps giving me material!

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