Ari Melber from MSNBC was interviewing former federal prosecutor Renato Marriotti about Jack Smith. Melber, referring to Marriotti, having been in the same role as Smith, said that Marriotti has “sat in his shoes”. This is a congruent conflation of “stand/walk in (someone’s) shoes” and “sit in someone else’s chair”, both meaning to see or understand things from someone else’s perspective. This one reminds me of the 2017 Malaphor of the Year, “welcome to my shoes”. https://malaphors.com/2017/01/02/welcome-to-my-shoes/ Another tip of the hat to Mike Kovacs for hearing this one and sending it in.
Eugene Robinson on Morning Joe was interviewing Monique Worrell, the Florida Democrat State Attorney who Governor Ron DeSantis removed from office. Robinson then uttered “Ron DeSantis is like a tin hat would-be emperor”. This is a mashup of “tin foil hat” (used when talking about people who believe in conspiracy theories) and “tin-pot dictator” (an autocratic ruler with little political credibility). A “tinhorn” (contemptible person, particularly a person pretending to have money or influence) might also be in the mix, given the context. An interesting tid bit: although still used today, “tin-pot dictator” is a pejorative term coined in the days of the British Empire, when it referred to the Victorian innovation of the tin pot, an inexpensive metal container, the forerunner of the tin can. Though neither the tin-can nor tin pots are used today due to their toxicity, the term is still apt.
A big thank you to Mike Kovacs, celebrated Malaphor Hunter, for hearing this one and sending it in!
Chris Hayes, on the podcast All In with Chris Hayes, was talking about the background of Jeffrey Clark, the former acting assistant attorney general under Donald Trump and who most certainly is “co-conspirator #4” in the Georgia indictment of Trump. It appears around 28:04 on this link:
This is a mashup of “white shoe law firm” (prestigious, well-established law firm) and “white collar crime” (describing generally non-violent crime). Must have been a Freudian slip as Hayes was about to talk about Clark’s involvement in white collar crime. A big thanks to Frank King for spotting this subtle malaphor and sending it in!
A conversation about a project that was half completed but it should not have started in the first place. The speaker said “too bad but the train has left the building”. This is a mashup of “that train has left the station” (option is no longer available) and “Elvis has left the building” (performance or act has ended, or someone has left a place in a dramatic fashion). Both idioms refer to endings. “That train has left the station” has been garbled several times before, as loyal malaphor followers know. Other malaphors include “that train has sailed” and “that bus has sailed”. https://malaphors.com/2015/11/13/that-train-has-sailed/. https://malaphors.com/2023/03/09/that-bus-has-sailed/
“Elvis has left the building” idiom comes from an announcement famously made at the end of Elvis Presley concerts alerting people that he vacated the premises and no further encores would be played.
A big thanks to Andy Jacobs for hearing this one and sending it in!
This one comes from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis:
“If people see that you’re willing to fight for them, if they see that you’re willing to take arrows for them, they will come out and support you,” DeSantis said in a recent speech to the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council conference. “They will be willing to crawl over hot coals barefoot to be able to support you.”
This is a congruent conflation of “walking over hot coals” and “crawling over broken glass”, both meaning to endure a painful experience in order to support or achieve something. I suppose Ron really expects a lot of pain from his supporters. A shout out to Tom Justice for spotting this one and sending it in!
Orlando Magic player, Jonathan Isaac, was interviewed on the Rubin Report about his new clothing line, Unitus, and mentioned that Riley Gaines is going to be a brand ambassador. Here’s the relevant excerpt:
Um, she’s not swimming anymore, but she’s a, she’s a, she’s a firehouse, um, for what
she’s stood for and been able to do in women’s sports and looking forward to seeing
her kind of career and speaking and everything like that take off
Firehouse is a single word blend malaphor of “powerhouse” (a person of great energy, strength, or power) and “firebrand” (a passionate person who invokes change in a particular cause). A big thanks to Verbatim for catching this one and sending it in!
This one might be understood by only those over fifty years old. A couple were talking about driving to a fairly congested shopping area and the husband said they would be going “dead smack in the middle of rush hour”. This is a congruent conflation of “dead center” and smack dab in the middle”, both meaning right in the middle or most central part of something. The latter idiom is a bit old-fashioned, but is the title of a great Ry Cooder song, Here it is:
A big thanks to John Kooser for uttering this one and sending it in! Enjoy Ry everyone!
This one comes from an article in the NY Times, regarding Chris Sununu, Governor of New Hampshire:
“Although broadly popular, Mr. Sununu is not beloved in New Hampshire’s conservative circles. His anti-Trump mission will do nothing to improve this. ‘I think Sununu is trying to dance the same tightrope I am and a lot of us are: being very forceful about the fact that we need a new nominee and yet trying not to take too big of a dump on the former president,’ said Jason Osborne . . . https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/30/opinion/donald-trump-new-hampshire.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
This is a mashup of “dance around the issue” (to avoid discussing something or dealing with it directly) and “walk a tightrope” (a situation where someone must be very cautious). “Dance to (one’s) tune” (to go along with someone else’s views or wishes) might also be in the mix given the context. A big thanks to Barry Eigen for spotting this one and sending it in!
Found in an article in The Daily Beast. Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ) was talking about the feud between Lauren Goebert and Marjorie Taylor-Greene:
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) compared Greene and Boebert’s battle to that of a “two-way sword.”
“I just think that whatever is there, could be utilized both ways,” he said, adding that “people make decisions that they have to work and live by, and you kind of hate being in their shoes.”
This is a mashup of “double-edged sword” (something that can be both beneficial and problematic) and “two-way street” (a situation where both sides must put forth an equal amount of effort to get a desired result). The reason for the mixup is obvious: “double” means “two”. Also, the two expressions are close in meaning. A big thanks to Frank King for spotting this one.
Alex Sherman, media reporter for CNBC, was commenting on MSNBC’s 11th Hour about the actor and writer strikes and how Disney CEO Iger and other studio execs have been ineffective in their response. This is a congruent conflation of “toss in the towel” and “wave the white flag”, both meaning to give up on an endeavor. The speaker may have been thinking of a football line judge throwing a penalty flag, or color guard flag tosses?
A big thank you to Bruce Ryan and Jim Kozlowski who heard this one and sent it in within minutes of each other.
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