A professor was telling her class that they will be studying a certain subject in more detail next semester so studying it ahead of time might be unnecessary but “at least this way you’ll be ahead of the bandwagon!” This is a mashup of “ahead of the curve” (at the forefront or leading in something) and “jump on the bandwagon” (join something only after it has become popular).
The origin of the idiom ‘jump on the bandwagon’ is an interesting one. In nineteenth century America, a ‘bandwagon’ was a horse-drawn wagon with a platform for a group of musicians (a band) that often preceded a circus parade. The phrase was first seen in 1848, when a famous clown named Dan Rice would use his circus bandwagon to transport politicians around town while the music attracted the public to an area where campaign speeches were being given. https://www.gingersoftware.com/content/phrases/jump-on-the-bandwagon
A big thank you to Rob Shand for hearing this one and passing it on!
A physical therapist was talking about a new hire that another PT wanted to also hire. The new hire was apparently great. This is a mashup of “fight tooth and nail” (engage in vigorous combat) and “fight to the death” (intensely pursue an outcome refusing to accept defeat). Both expressions have the word “fight” which is the source of the mental mixup. “Tooth and nail” seems to be an idiom frequently messed up, considering I have posted others – see https://malaphors.com/2021/02/15/we-fought-each-other-like-tooth-and-tongue/ and https://malaphors.com/2018/06/29/they-are-scrambling-tooth-and-nail/. Also, if you type “teeth” in the search engine, there are many malaphors associated with our little chiclets. Props to Barry Eigen for hearing this one and sending it in.
This one was uttered on Episode 3, Season 46 (!) of the tv show “Survivor”. It is a mashup of “a bag of tricks” (items that one has available for use) and “pull a rabbit out of the hat” (to do something surprising and seemingly impossible). “Have a trick up (one’s) sleeve” (have a secret plan or advantage) may be in the mix given the context. Kudos to Fred Martin for hearing this one and sending it in!
MSNBC legal correspondent Katie Phang was talking about the E. Jean Carroll case and that Carroll is holding Trump “to task”. Here’s the clip:
This is a congruent conflation of “take (one) to task” and “hold (one) accountable”, both meaning to hold someone responsible for what they do and demand a satisfactory reason for it. A tip of the hat to Mike Kovacs for spotting this one and sending it in!
Several malaphor followers mentioned Addison’s disease as possibly being part of the mashup. In fact, after doing a little research, I believe the docent was confusing Addison’s, not Parkinson’s, with Atkin’s Diet. The mashup was heard at the Ringling Museum in Sarasota, Florida. The docent was talking about John Ringling’s wife, Mable, who did indeed die of Addison’s Disease. https://ringlingdocents.org/burton.htm
The docent did say Atkinson’s Disease, so it is still a nice malaphor. Thanks to Beth Luey, Linda Bernstein, and Martin Pietrucha for suggesting Addison’s Disease as a part of the conflation.
A docent at a museum was talking about a person with Parkinson’s disease, but uttered this malaphor instead. I think it is a mashup of “Atkins Diet” and “Parkinson’s Disease”. A big thanks to Anthony Kovacs for hearing this one and passing it on.
In the podcast “Behind the Bastards”, “Part 4: The Terrible Secret of Steve Jobs”, host Robert Evans says:
“there’s too many bad people out there for me to get all that burned out of shape about every one of them” (at 53:12).
This is a congruent conflation of “burned up” and “bent out of shape”, both meaning to be angry or agitated. Kudos to Doug Pietrucha for hearing this one and immediately sending it in.
A grandfather was reminiscing with his grandson about a trip to Custer State Park, and when they were nearly “strampled” by a buffalo. This is a word blend of “stomped” and “trampled”. The speaker might also have been thinking of a “stampede”. A big thanks to Dan Geier for unintentionally uttering this malaphor, and Gabe Ruano for hearing it!
A discussion about a controversial social media post led to this word blend malaphor. It is a congruent conflation of “uproar” and “backlash”, both meaning a public negative reaction to something. As I have noted previously, single word blend malaphors are unconscious blends of words to make an unintentional new word. (for a discussion of the difference between a word blend malaphor and a portmanteau, see https://malaphors.com/2013/02/02/portmanteaus-and-single-word-malaphors/). The word sounds or looks correct at first blush, but then on closer examination is incorrect. Examples on this website include “Buckminster Palace” (Buckingham and Westminster, and/or possibly Buckminster Fuller) and “split-minute decision” (split second and last minute). “Slunched” is a recent one (slouched + hunched). A tip of the hat to Mike Kovacs for unintentionally uttering this one and Anthony Kovacs for spotting it as a bona fide malaphor!
This subtle mashup was overhead in a discussion about someone losing an argument. It is a congruent conflation of “backed into a corner” and “back against the wall”, both describing being in a hard-pressed situation. Kudos to Elaine Hatfield for hearing this one.
Malaphors 
Recent Comments