Another bite at the cherry
Posted: December 12, 2012 Filed under: ACTION, apple, bite, cherry, FOOD | Tags: apple, basketball, blended idioms, cherry, cherry picking, expressions, malaphors, mixed idioms, washington wizards, words Leave a commentThis malaphor was heard last night by Mike Browning while listening to a Washington Wizards basketball game. The play by play announcer, Dave Johnson, said this: “… Crawford grabs the rebound, and the Wizards get another bite at the cherry.” Given the context, this is a mash up of “another bite at the apple” and “cherry-picking”, the latter a term used in basketball. “A bite of the cherry” is apparently an Australian and British expression meaning “being a part of something good”, but I don’t think Dave Johnson is Australian or British.
He is the top of the notch
Posted: December 11, 2012 Filed under: THINGS | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, malaphors, mixed idioms, top dog, top notch, top of the heap, words Leave a commentThis one reminds me of “cream of the cake”. The Master actually uttered this gem, which is a mixture of “top notch” and probably “top of the heap” or possibly “top dog”, all meaning the best. It is also the name of a restaurant on top of Mt. Baldy near Los Angeles.
He took the thunder out of my sails
Posted: December 10, 2012 Filed under: sails, THINGS, thunder | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, malaphors, mixed idioms, steal his thunder, thunder, wind, wind out of my sailsd, words Leave a commentThis is a mash up of “wind out of my sails”(someone’s boasting or arrogance is challenged) and “steal his thunder” (to lessen someone’s authority or force). Apparently this speaker’s arrogance and power were both taken away. I have also heard the malaphor “took the air out of my sails”, indicating weather mix-ups are a common occurrence.
They dug their own snare
Posted: December 9, 2012 Filed under: ACTION, grave, PLACES, snare | Tags: alan simpson, blended idioms, dug their own grave, expressions, malaphors, mixed idioms, snare, today show, words Leave a commentThis conflation of “dug their own grave” and “caught in a snare” was spoken by former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson on the Today show last week, referring to Congress and the President not acting yet on the approaching fiscal cliff. Thank you to my old friend Dave Thorp for spotting this one.
That was a breath of relief!
Posted: December 8, 2012 Filed under: ACTION, breathe, THINGS | Tags: blended idioms, breath of fresh air, breathe a sigh of relief, expressions, malaphors, mixed idioms, words Leave a comment
Cover via Amazon
This apparently common mash-up (hundreds of hits on google) of “breathe a sigh of relief” and “breath of fresh air” was found in the Michigan Quarterly article referred in “Articles” on my website and also in Michael Erard’s book, “Um. . .: Slips, Stumbles, and Verbal Blunders, and What They Mean.”
Not a dry tear in the room
Posted: December 7, 2012 Filed under: BODY PARTS, eye, tears | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, eye, malaphors, mixed idioms, not a dry eye, tear, words Leave a commentThis mixes “not a dry eye” (everyone crying from something emotional) and possibly “not shed a tear”(not showing emotion even though something is sad). “Move to tears” and “end in tears” also could be in play here. Of course, the speaker is thinking crying so naturally the word “tears” wells up in his mind. A big thank you to Vic for sharing this. It was spoken by a friend that was in charge of the sound board during the 60th birthday celebration of his pastor’s wife.
Keep an ear to the grindstone
Posted: December 1, 2012 Filed under: ACTION, BODY PARTS, ear, grindstone, nose, THINGS | Tags: blended idioms, ear, expressions, grindstone, keep an ear to the ground, malaphors, mixed idioms, nose, words 4 CommentsThis one is similar to an earlier malaphor, “put your shoulder to the grindstone” (posted July 20, 2012 – see body parts in index), except it mixes “keep an ear to the ground” (devote attention to watching or listening to clues) and “keep your nose to the grindstone” (work hard and constantly). While these two idioms have different meanings, they both express diligence in an action. They also both have the word “keep” in them. Finally, adding to the confusion are the use of body parts. Body parts are a common source of confusion for some reason, particularly if they are in close proximity – in this case, ears and noses. An amusing aside – I heard this one from a supervisor who was giving me advice.
Nip that in the butt
Posted: November 29, 2012 Filed under: BODY PARTS, bud, butt | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, kick in the butt, malaphors, malaprop, mixed idioms, nip in the bud, words Leave a commentWhile this can be classified as a malaprop (inadvertent substitution of a word with a strong phonetic similarity), it can also be considered a bona fide malaphor, mixing “nip it in the bud” (put a stop to something in its early development) and “kick in the butt” (forceful encouragement). I have heard this idiom misused often by younger people, so my guess is that it is probably a phrase that has mutated from the past generation (mine) to the current one. Another example is the phrase “buck naked”, mutating to the current “butt naked”. Still another is the word “moot” to “mute”, as in “that’s a mute point”. Am I correct, or am I just turning into a grouchy old man?
A big thanks to Judge Yvonne for sending this one in.
He led me on a blind goose chase
Posted: November 28, 2012 Filed under: ACTION, alley, ANIMALS, goose, PLACES | Tags: blended idioms, blind alley, expressions, futile pursuits, malaphors, mixed idioms, wild goose chase, words 2 CommentsThis is a mash up of “down a blind alley” and “led on a wild goose chase”, both meaning an unproductive or futile pursuit. Blind and wild are similar sounding words, so the brain chose the wrong swirling fragment. This seems to be a common malaphor, based on the many internet hits. Reminds me of the proverb: A blind goose is as good as a deaf duck (ok, I made that up – just trying to be a wise quacker).
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