Hands off to the staff!

In a Facebook post, kudos were given to Middlesex Diner, where the breakfast was good despite being very crowded. The writer then said “hands off to the staff!” This is a congruent conflation of “hats off to (someone)” and “give (one) a big hand”, both meaning to express appreciation to someone for a job well done. Hats off to Dan Tulip for this excellent malaphor. And be sure to visit the Middlesex Diner when traveling through West Middlesex, PA!

It’s a bit of a sore eye for the Democrats

On Morning Joe, Ellise Jordan was talking to a panel of voters about John Fetterman, the Pennsylvania Democratic candidate for the US Senate and his stroke recovery. One voter questioned whether Fetterman would be affected by his auditory processing for 6 months or the rest of his life. He then said it was a bit of a sore eye for the Democrats. This is a mashup of “a black eye” (blemish to one’s reputation) and “a sore spot” (a topic that makes one angry or uncomfortable).

A big thanks to Vicki Ameel-Kovacs for “spotting” this one.

He was able to land some points

On the podcast, “All In with Chris Hayes”, Maya King, a reporter for the New York Times, was talking about the Herschel Walker/Raphael Warnock debate for the US Senate in Georgia. She said this malaphor when talking about how Walker managed to respond effectively to some of the questions. It is a congruent conflation of “land some punches” and “score some points”, both meaning to successfully make points in an argument. You can hear the mashup at the 23:13 mark:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/all-in-with-chris-hayes/id1314170606?i=1000582965580

A big thanks to Frank King for hearing this one and sending it in. Ears like a hawk, Frank!

He has a chip in his cap

Joey Galloway, a commentator on ESPN, said this at the University of Washington vs. UCLA game during halftime. From the context it appears he was trying to say “feather in his cap”. This is a mashup of “feather in (one’s) cap” (a success or achievement) and “hold all the chips” (have complete control over a matter). A big thank you to Lin Sewell for hearing this one and sharing it.

I hope to hit the ball rolling tomorrow

This one was picked up on a Facebook post. The author was talking about being jet-lagged but hoping to get going the next day:

This is a mashup of “hit the ground running” (to begin something energetically) and “get the ball rolling” (get the process started). Both idioms involve starting something. My guess is that jetlag was still an issue when this was written.

A big thanks to Yvonne Stam, a terrific malaphor hunter, for spotting this one in the social media weeds.

He doesn’t hold any punches

The speaker was referring to John Fetterman, Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania and currently running for the U.S. Senate.

“He’s a straight shooter,” said Mr. Fischer, 61. “I mean, he tells you what he is going to do, he doesn’t hold any punches, he doesn’t play games. We support the positions that he supports.”

https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2022/10/01/fetterman-oz-pennsylvania-senate-race-pittsburgh-strip-district-rally/stories/202210010048?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1664652523

This is a congruent conflation of “not pull any punches” and “not hold back”, both meaning to speak very bluntly and directly. A big thanks to me for spotting this in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

They’re not the sharpest candles

This one was heard on the FX series, “Justified” (Season 1, Episode 5). Raylan is talking to Perkins about his feud with his Dad, Arlo. Perkins then referred to his nephews saying “I know they’re not the sharpest candles.” This is a congruent conflation of “not the sharpest tool” and “not the brightest candle”, both describing someone who is not intelligent or dim-witted. As regular malaphor followers of this website know, there are many similar malaphors uttered, mainly because of the many idioms describing someone who is not very smart. Some examples: “not the brightest tool in the shed” https://malaphors.com/2013/06/24/not-the-brightest-tool-in-the-shed/, “I’m not the smartest bulb in the room” https://malaphors.com/2021/01/29/im-not-the-smartest-bulb-in-the-room/, and “I’m not the sharpest tack in the drawer” https://malaphors.com/2021/01/29/im-not-the-smartest-bulb-in-the-room/. There are many others (I think I need a new category. This is not rocket surgery). A big thank you to Mike Kovacs for hearing this one and sending it in!

Strike like a hot knife

Craig Wolfley, a color analyst for Steelers radio, was saying during the game that a penalty killed the Steelers’ momentum at a time when they needed to “strike like a hot knife”. This is a mashup of “strike while the iron is hot” (to make the most of an opportunity or favorable conditions while one has the chance to do so) and “like a hot knife through butter” (deal with a situation quickly and easily). The word “hot” seems to have tangled Mr. Wolfley’s tongue a little. A big thanks to Jack Kooser for hearing this and recognizing it as a malaphor.

It just smells of high heaven

Charlie Crist, who is challenging DeSantis for the Florida Governor position, said this regarding DeSantis’ immigrant stunt:

“The fact that he used state dollars, as far as we know thus far to the tune of over $600,000, to charter these planes, which sounds like an outrageous sum of money, but it’s state dollars that he’s utilizing for a political stunt,” said former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who is challenging DeSantis in the governor’s race this year. “It just smells of high heaven.” 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2022/09/16/migrants-desantis-marthas-vineyard/

This is a mashup of “smells to high heaven” (to be or seem suspicious or corrupt) and “smells of (something) (to be strikingly suggestive of something). “Smells rotten” (again, something suspicious or corrupt) may also be in the mix. Maybe “High Heaven” is a cologne used by DeSantis? A big thank you to Tom Justice for spotting this one.

He’s a one-trick wonder

The speaker was watching America’s Got Talent with his family and was talking smack about one of the acts. This is a mashup of “one-trick pony” (a person who specializes in only one area or has only one talent) and “one-hit wonder” (a musician or band that only has one successful song during their musical career). Many thanks to Jonathan Eliot for sharing this one!