Disparency

A supervisor used this term to illustrate a difference in data, e.g., actual v. projected manhours. It is a word blend of “disparity” and “discrepancy”. Single word blend malaphors are unconscious blends of words to make an unintentional new word. The word sounds or looks correct at first blush, but then on closer examination is incorrect. Examples found on my website include “Buckminster Palace” (Buckingham and Westminster, and/or possibly Buckminster Fuller) and “split-minute decision” (split second and last minute). A word blend malaphor is different than a portmanteau. First, portmanteaus are intentional word blends while word blend malaphors are unintentional. Also, a portmanteau is a combination of two (or more) words or morphemes, and their definitions, into one new word. A portmanteau word generally combines both sounds and meanings, as in smog, coined by blending smoke and fog. More generally, it may refer to any term or phrase that combines two or more meanings, for instance, the term “wurly” when describing hair that is both wavy and curly. Check out my website for more word blend malaphors by typing in “word blend” in the search function.

Note: the word “disparency” does appear in Wiktionary but in no other dictionary I could find. The word blend malaphor has perhaps become so common in recent times as to become a part of the English lexicon. However, for now, I call this a bonafide malaphor! A big thanks to Skip Kennedy for sending this one in!

I get touched up just talking about that

There was an article in the Washington Post recently about golfer Collin Morikawa and his win at the DP World Tour Championship (November 2021). He was talking about making 7 straight birdies to overtake Rory McIlroy for the lead, saying, “It’s special. I get touched up just talking about that.” This is a nice congruent conflation of “being touched by (something/someone)” and being “choked up”, both meaning to have strong, tender emotions about something/someone. No , no fondling here. A tip of the toque to David Barnes for spotting this one and sending it in.

Do not pull back on your guard

Wise words spoken by Dr. Anthony Fauci, discussing the new COVID variant, omicron, and the need to be fully vaccinated. He said this on NBC’s Weekend Today. This is a nice mashup of “pull back” (to back away, retreat) and “be on (one’s) guard” (to be especially vigilant). Check out the last line of this article for the malaphor:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fauci-new-covid-variant-omicron/?fbclid=IwAR12E9wWQkNPE1vTieIzvzx3A9Tn66Ulgr6KparIS3PvCcde3totyEMVm9U

A big thanks to Donna Doblick for spotting this one and sending it in!

That was a pretty good trick that she pulled out of her sleeve

This is another malaphor brought to you by the show Seven Little Johnstons. The mom was talking this time.  It is a nice mash up of “trick up her sleeve” (secret advantage) and “pull a rabbit out of her hat” (to do something surprising or seemingly impossible).  Both idioms concern the element of surprise, and both involve tricks or magic. Also in the mix is the R rated “pulled it out of her ass”, also meaning to something surprising or seemingly impossible. This one is similar to a previous post: “she needs to pull a trick out of her hat”, spoken at the Winter Olympics. See https://malaphors.com/2018/02/22/she-needs-to-pull-a-trick-out-of-her-hat/

A big thanks to Mike Kovacs for spotting this one and sending it in. And here’s the clip:

It’s a dumpster f**k

This was heard on an Instagram video post. It is a nice congruent conflation of “dumpster fire” and “cluster f**k”, both referring to a chaotic situation. Both are fairly new idioms in the English language, making this malaphor timely. A tip of the hat to Anthony Kovacs for spotting this one and sending it in!

The gorilla in the room

Yet another great malaphor uttered on Brian Williams’ podcast, “11th Hour”. This time the speaker is former US Attorney Joyce Vance (heard on 11/11 at the 16:50 ).

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-11th-hour-with-brian-williams/id1314368109?i=1000541456964

This is a mashup of “the 800 pound gorilla” (dominant force that cannot be ignored) and “the elephant in the room” (a truth that cannot be ignored). The elephant and the gorilla get mixed up often apparently. See, for example, “it’s the 800 pound elephant in the room” https://malaphors.com/2015/03/30/its-the-800-pound-elephant-in-the-room/ or “the 800 pound gorilla in the room” https://malaphors.com/2012/11/15/the-800-pound-gorilla-in-the-room/

A big thank you to Frank King for hearing this beauty and sending it in.

And now to kick the stage

This was heard at a conference. The conference chair, after making a few opening remarks, said, “and now to kick the stage.”  This is a mash-up of “kick things off” (to begin something) and “set the stage” (to prepare something for some activity). It is almost a congruent conflation as both idioms involve starting something.

I wonder if he was a rocket scientist? Now if the guys from Monty Python said this, they would be literally kicking the stage… A big thanks to Martin Pietrucha for hearing this one and sending it in.

A tougher bar to climb

This is yet another malaphor heard on Brian Williams’ podcast, 11th Hour. This time it was uttered by Dr. Vin Gupta. Hear it at 37:36:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-11th-hour-with-brian-williams/id1314368109?i=1000541456964

This is a mashup of “a tougher row to hoe” ( a very difficult situation) and “set a high bar” (establish a desired but difficult to achieve standard). Kudos to Frank King for hearing this one and sending it in.

Give you a penny, you take a mile

A husband finished doing a few chores around the house and his wife asked if he could do a couple more. The husband replied, “Sheez, give you a penny, you take a mile”. This is a conflation of “give an inch and they’ll take a mile” (make a small concession and they will take advantage of you), and “in for a penny, in for a pound” (once involved, one must not stop at half measures). This excellent malaphor was sent in by Mary Marshall.

By the hair of his teeth

On election night (11/21), MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki, the election guru, was talking about a candidate’s narrow victory.  He said that the guy was ahead at that point, “by the hair of his teeth.”  This is a nice congruent conflation of “by a hair” and “by the skin of (one’s) teeth”, both meaning just barely or very narrowly. This one has variations that I have posted previously, e.g. https://malaphors.com/2018/02/17/by-the-nick-of-their-teeth/ and https://malaphors.com/2014/10/23/i-got-by-by-the-squeak-of-my-teeth/.

Hats off to Martin Pietrucha for sending this one and to his wife Melinda for hearing it!