He got kind of thrown into the gauntlet
Posted: February 23, 2013 Filed under: fire, gauntlet, run | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, Matt Barkley, mixed idioms, National Football League, New York Jets, run the gauntlet, thrown into the fire, words 1 Comment
Taken by James Santelli, Neon Tommy. September 24, 2011. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
This is another great one from the sports world. At the NFL combine, Matt Barkley of USC had this to say about former USC QB Marc Sanchez:
“He got kind of thrown into the gauntlet in New York.”
This is a mash-up of “thrown into the fire” and “run the gauntlet”. Thanks to Gerry for this beauty, approaching “the master” level.
http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/jets/post/_/id/20940/barkley-will-learn-from-sanchez-experiences
I must have been out in left space
Posted: February 22, 2013 Filed under: spaced | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, out in left field, spaced out, words 4 CommentsThis is a mash up of “out in left field” (offbeat or unusual) and “spaced out” (disoriented). Sounds like something Eva Gabor would have said on Green Acres. A big thanks to John for sending this one in!
Life is not all guns and roses
Posted: February 21, 2013 Filed under: guns, roses | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, guns, Guns N' Roses, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, roses, words 2 CommentsA big thank you to Meesy for sending this one to me. She stated that her husband lectured her daughter that “life is not all guns and roses”. This is a mash up of “a bed of roses” (a peaceful and easy life), “days of wine and roses” (prosperous and happy time) and the band Guns N’ Roses. The statement on its face might not be correct these days considering there are an estimated 875 million guns in the world (with about 275 million of them in the United States). Welcome to the jungle.
Guns ‘n’ Roses (Photo credit: s i n h a)
That would be a tough nut to swallow
Posted: February 20, 2013 Filed under: ACTION, crack, FOOD, nut, pill, swallow, THINGS | Tags: bitter pill to swallow, blended idioms, conflations, crack, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, nut, pill, swallow, tough nut to crack, words 3 CommentsThis clever congruent conflation is a blend of “tough nut to crack” and “bitter pill to swallow”, both referring to hard things to do. Both also contain four words, and both involve actions. And of course a tough nut is always hard to swallow,
right? A big shout out to Susan E for sending me this one that she heard her husband utter last week.
Every tree has a silver lining
Posted: February 19, 2013 Filed under: alley, COLORS, PLACES, silver, THINGS, tree | Tags: blended idioms, cloud, every cloud has a silver lining, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, tree, words Leave a commentThe speaker was obviously meaning to say “every cloud has a silver lining”, but where did the tree come from? Possibly he was thinking of a silver maple, those messy trees that every yard seems to have. Or, as my “ol pal” suggests, the word “sliver” instead of “silver” floated up in the brain soup, suggesting wood. “Barking up the wrong tree” also might have been in the mix, even though the meaning is not remotely close to the intended meaning. Any other suggestions out there? Thanks to Art for sending this one to the site.
The possibilities are mindless
Posted: February 18, 2013 Filed under: THINGS | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mindless, mixed idioms, possibilities are endless, words 3 CommentsThis is another beauty contributed by Cicely. It is a mix of “possibilities are endless” and “mind boggling” I think. Or perhaps it describes which Stooge you prefer.
I’m just talking out loud
Posted: February 16, 2013 Filed under: ACTION, talk, think | Tags: blended idioms, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, talking out, thinking out loud Leave a commentThis is a mash up of “thinking out loud” and probably “talking (something) out”. Maybe a little “crying out loud” as well? This is a very common malaphor it seems based on the number of google hits. Thanks to cSidick for contributing this one.
He’s as clean as apple pie
Posted: February 15, 2013 Filed under: Apple pie, FOOD, Whistle | Tags: apple pie, blended idioms, C Gonzalez, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, Washington nationals, whistle, words Leave a commentThis beauty was uttered by Max Gonzalez, the father of Washington Nationals’ pitcher, Gio Gonzalez, in response to accusations that his son took steroids. It is a mash up of “clean as a whistle” and “American as apple pie”. Thanks to Bruce for sending this one. For more on this malaphor and the Washington Post story, check out my Facebook page, Malaphors.
The sImilarities are deafening
Posted: February 14, 2013 Filed under: Silence | Tags: blended idioms, Deafening, expressions, humor, malaphors, mixed idioms, silence, words Leave a commentThis one came to me from a newspaper. It is a mixture of “silence is deafening” and “similarities are striking”. Heavy metal and movie theaters perhaps?
Throw it under the rug
Posted: February 12, 2013 Filed under: ACTION, brush, rug, sweep, throw | Tags: blended idioms, bus, Catholic Church, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, rug, sweep under the carpet, throw under the bus, words 2 CommentsThis mixed idiom was heard on NPR this morning in a story about the Catholic Church. This is a mixture of “sweep it under the rug (or carpet)” (hide or ignore something) and “throw him under the bus” (sacrifice someone for personal gain). It is similar to the 12/23/12 malaphor posting “brush it under the rug”. The confusion seems to lie in action words such as sweep, brush, and throw. Of course, many of us have thrown a few items under the rug when company came unannounced. Thanks Lauren for sending in this gem!
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