Jedi mind-meld
Posted: March 2, 2013 Filed under: Jedi, mind-meld | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, humor, Jedi, language, malaphors, mind-meld, mixed idioms, words 4 CommentsFor this one, I will leave the ‘splaining to Al Kamen of the Washington Post:
President Obama might be urging cooperation between Democrats and Republicans on the sequester.
But the only things that seems to be mixing at the moment are metaphors.
During his news conference Friday, Obama said some people unfairly expected him to be able to force Republicans to accept his terms. “Even though most people agree… I’m presenting a fair deal, the fact that they don’t take it means that I should somehow do a Jedi mind-meld with these folks and convince them to do what’s right,” he said.
That phrase “Jedi mind meld,”which he uttered during extemporaneous (read: no prompter or script) remarks during the question-and-answer portion of the newser, appears to combine elements from two distinct sci-fi worlds.
A “Jedi mind trick” is a power exercised by Jedi Knights in “Star Wars,” usually accomplished by verbal manipulation (Famous example: “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for.”)
But “mind meld” is a phenomenon from “Star Trek.” It’s a method of communication used among Vulcans, like Spock.
Obama’s mash-up of the two is certain to provoke outcry among the fervent fans of each franchise. And no matter what happens in Washington, the president might find that bringing together Trekkies and Star Wars aficionados might be tougher than brokering a bipartisan compromise.
Vulcan (Star Trek) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
She went off into tangents
Posted: March 1, 2013 Filed under: tangents | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, off in space, off target, tangents, words Leave a commentThis one was uttered by a daughter describing her teacher to her mother. It is a mash up of “off on a tangent” and ” off into space”. As “my ol’ pal” notes, being “off target” might also play in the mix here. Thanks to Frances for this one!
English: law of tangents – sketch. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
That’s no skin off my teeth
Posted: February 28, 2013 Filed under: BODY PARTS, nose, tooth | Tags: blended idioms, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, skin, skin of our teeth, skin off my nose, teeth, words Leave a commentHeard this beauty last night during a dinner conversation. This is a mash up of “no skin off my nose” and “by the skin of our teeth”.
That’s the cat calling the kettle black
Posted: February 24, 2013 Filed under: black, cat, kettle | Tags: black cat, blended idioms, cat calls, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, pot calling the kettle black, words Leave a commentThis is a mash up of “the pot calling the kettle black” and “cat calls”. Let’s also throw in black cats for good measure, and maybe “cattle calls”? Pot and cat are three letter words ending in t, another possible cause for confusion. Thanks to Kimberly for providing this gem.
Black Cat Portrait (Photo credit: Georgo10)
He got kind of thrown into the gauntlet
Posted: February 23, 2013 Filed under: fire, gauntlet, run | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, Matt Barkley, mixed idioms, National Football League, New York Jets, run the gauntlet, thrown into the fire, words 1 Comment
Taken by James Santelli, Neon Tommy. September 24, 2011. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
This is another great one from the sports world. At the NFL combine, Matt Barkley of USC had this to say about former USC QB Marc Sanchez:
“He got kind of thrown into the gauntlet in New York.”
This is a mash-up of “thrown into the fire” and “run the gauntlet”. Thanks to Gerry for this beauty, approaching “the master” level.
http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/jets/post/_/id/20940/barkley-will-learn-from-sanchez-experiences
I must have been out in left space
Posted: February 22, 2013 Filed under: spaced | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, out in left field, spaced out, words 4 CommentsThis is a mash up of “out in left field” (offbeat or unusual) and “spaced out” (disoriented). Sounds like something Eva Gabor would have said on Green Acres. A big thanks to John for sending this one in!
Life is not all guns and roses
Posted: February 21, 2013 Filed under: guns, roses | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, guns, Guns N' Roses, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, roses, words 2 CommentsA big thank you to Meesy for sending this one to me. She stated that her husband lectured her daughter that “life is not all guns and roses”. This is a mash up of “a bed of roses” (a peaceful and easy life), “days of wine and roses” (prosperous and happy time) and the band Guns N’ Roses. The statement on its face might not be correct these days considering there are an estimated 875 million guns in the world (with about 275 million of them in the United States). Welcome to the jungle.
Guns ‘n’ Roses (Photo credit: s i n h a)
That would be a tough nut to swallow
Posted: February 20, 2013 Filed under: ACTION, crack, FOOD, nut, pill, swallow, THINGS | Tags: bitter pill to swallow, blended idioms, conflations, crack, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, nut, pill, swallow, tough nut to crack, words 3 CommentsThis clever congruent conflation is a blend of “tough nut to crack” and “bitter pill to swallow”, both referring to hard things to do. Both also contain four words, and both involve actions. And of course a tough nut is always hard to swallow,
right? A big shout out to Susan E for sending me this one that she heard her husband utter last week.
Every tree has a silver lining
Posted: February 19, 2013 Filed under: alley, COLORS, PLACES, silver, THINGS, tree | Tags: blended idioms, cloud, every cloud has a silver lining, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, tree, words Leave a commentThe speaker was obviously meaning to say “every cloud has a silver lining”, but where did the tree come from? Possibly he was thinking of a silver maple, those messy trees that every yard seems to have. Or, as my “ol pal” suggests, the word “sliver” instead of “silver” floated up in the brain soup, suggesting wood. “Barking up the wrong tree” also might have been in the mix, even though the meaning is not remotely close to the intended meaning. Any other suggestions out there? Thanks to Art for sending this one to the site.
The possibilities are mindless
Posted: February 18, 2013 Filed under: THINGS | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mindless, mixed idioms, possibilities are endless, words 3 CommentsThis is another beauty contributed by Cicely. It is a mix of “possibilities are endless” and “mind boggling” I think. Or perhaps it describes which Stooge you prefer.
Malaphors 
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