They don’t want to count their chickens before they roost
Posted: August 27, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: chickens, expressions idioms, hatch, humor, Katie Tur, language, malaphor, MSNBC, roost, Trump, words, Zerlina Maxwell 1 CommentZerlina Maxwell on MSNBC’s “Live with Katie Tur” uttered this beauty when she was talking about Democrats avoiding calls for impeaching Trump. This is a barnyard mashup of “don’t count your chickens before they hatch” (don’t make future plans before they happen) and “chickens come home to roost” (you have to face the consequences of your mistakes). “Chickens” of course are the culprit here, contributing to the mental yolk. These fowl phrases seem to get mixed up a lot – see “Never count your eggs before they hatch (July 9, 2012 post) , and “Might the roosters be guarding the henhouse?” (August 2, 2014 post). I was eggcited when several people laid this one on me. First was the ubiquitous Mike Kovacs, followed quickly by James Kozlowski and Bob Maxwell. Malaphor spotters are everywhere it seems.
The fish stinks from the head
Posted: August 26, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Barbara Boxer, Chris Hayes, expressions, humor, idioms, malaphor, MSNBC, stinks to high heaven, the fish rots from the head down, Trump, words 3 CommentsSenator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) uttered this on the Chris Hayes show (Ali Velshi filling in) the other night, referring to Trump. She said, “The Italians have an expression ‘the fish stinks from the head’.” Well, actually, the expression is “the fish rots from the head down”, meaning bad leaders damage an organization, and her comment mixes the idiom “stink to high heaven”, meaning to be or seem extremely corrupt or disreputable. Rotting sure gives off a stink so it is understandable that the speaker got confused. Another big thank you to Frank King, our MSNBC Malaphor Reporter.
My anxiety is out of the roof
Posted: August 24, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, malaphor, malaphors, out of this world, through the roof, words Leave a commentThis was overheard in a disability hearing. It is a nice mashup of “through the roof” (to rise to a very high level) and “out of this world” (extraordinary). The word “roof” seems to be the cause of a lot of idiom jumbles. Check out other “roof malaphors” in the search engine. One I vividly recall is “the shit hit the roof”. https://malaphors.com/2014/09/20/the-shit-hit-the-roof/. A big thanks to Sam Edelmann for sharing this one.
If you liked this one, you’ll love my book on malaphors, “He Smokes Like a Fish and other Malaphors”, available on Amazon. It’s out of the roof!
Stormy McDaniels
Posted: August 23, 2018 Filed under: WORD BLENDS | Tags: humor, Karen McDougal, Larry Noble, malaphor, PBS Newshour, portmanteau, Stormy Daniels, Trump, words 2 CommentsLarry Noble, a campaign finance expert and former general counsel for the Federal Election Commission, uttered this word blend on the PBS News Hour last night. It is a mash up of Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, the two women who alleged to have affairs with Donald Trump before the 2016 election. Malaphors can be word blends as well as idiom blends, such as this one or Buckminster Palace, a blend of Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace (with perhaps a dash of Buckminster Fuller).
President Donald Trump listens as Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
They would throw him to the fishes
Posted: August 20, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Don McGahn, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, MSNBC, Steve Cohen, swimming with the fishes, thrown to the wolves, Trump, words Leave a commentRepresentative Steve Cohen (D – TN) was talking on MSNBC about the New York Times report that White House counsel Don McGahn has been cooperating with the Mueller investigation team for the past year. Cohen was speculating that McGahn felt at risk of Trump using him as a fall guy in the obstruction of justice probe, and so uttered this beauty. It is a mashup of “thrown to the wolves” (to sacrifice someone in order to protect others) and “swimming (or sleeping) with the fishes” (a gangster cliche meaning to be murdered). Both idioms refer to a person who gets hurt; hence, the mix up. Cohen may also have been thinking about the mafia way of doing business and the White House way of doing business. A big thanks to chief malaphor hunter Mike Kovacs for hearing this one and sending it in.
The deck is tilted against Trump
Posted: August 19, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: congruent conflation, expressions, Fox, humor, malaphor, stacked deck, tilt the scales, Trump, words Leave a commentA very perceptive follower noticed at the bottom of the screen on Fox News a chyron read: “…in Mueller investigation deck tilted against Trump.” This is a congruent conflation of “deck is stacked” and “the scales (balance) are tilted”, both meaning that one side has gained advantage. You can’t tilt a deck of cards (unless you’re Penn Jillette). A shout out to Eagle-Eared, and in this case, Eagle-Eyed, Frank King for spotting this one.
Facebook is the 10,000 pound canary in the coal mine
Posted: August 18, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 800 pound gorilla, canary in a coalmine, elephant in the room, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, NPR, Tom Merritt, words Leave a commentTom Merritt of APR’s Marketplace on NPR Morning Edition, Daily Tech News uttered this one. One of the criteria for a malaphor is that it is unintentionally said; a mental mishap so to speak. However, I have made an exception with this one as it is very clever. It appears Mr. Merritt was saying this intentionally, as he was talking about Facebook policing its advertising, and whether the latest transparency move was significant. They don’t want to talk about it; they’re being forced to talk about it. We don’t have a clear way of knowing whether our privacy is being protected..
It is a mashup of “canary in a coal mine” (early warning of possible adverse conditions or danger), “the 800 pound gorilla” (a person or group so powerful it does not need to heed to the rules) and “the elephant in the room” (a problem that everyone is aware but choose to ignore and not mention). Elephants, gorillas, and canaries all in one phrase! A huge thanks to Sally Adler for hearing this one and passing it on!
He’s running the shots
Posted: August 17, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: calling the shots, cnn, expressions, idioms, malaphors, Mueller, New Day, running the show, Trump, words Leave a commentThis excellent malaphor was uttered by a CNN reporter on the program New Day on 8/9/18. The reporter was referring to Mueller, and his ongoing negotiations with Trump’s legal team with respect to an interview with Trump. It’s a congruent conflation of “running the show” and “calling the shots”, both referring to someone who is in control of the situation. “Show” and “shot” are both four letter words that have similar sounds, and I suspect the reason for the mental mix up. A big thank you to Mike Kovacs for hearing this one and sending it in.
Today he evened out the scales
Posted: August 15, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: balance the scales, Chris Hayes, even out, even the score, expressions, humor, Julia Ainsley, malaphors, Manafort, MSNBC, Trump, words Leave a commentThis was uttered by Julia Ainsley on MSNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes show. She was referring to Manafort’s lawyer cross-examining Rick Gates. It is a mashup of three idioms: “even out” (to make something more balanced), “even the score” (avenge a wrong), and “balance the scales” (to make even). A big thanks to Frank King for hearing this one and sending it in.
The President calls the ball
Posted: August 13, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: calls the play, expressions, has the ball, humor, language, malaphors, Mike Pompeo, Trump, words 2 Comments
Malaphors 
Recent Comments