A store owner was talking about his staff sometimes missing things and he said, “every once in a blue while they forget to do something.” This is a conflation of “(every) once in a while” (occasionally or sometimes) and “once in a blue moon” (rarely or infrequently). Maybe the speaker was thinking of a “blue whale” when he said “blue”. Who knows? A big thanks to Katie Minnock for hearing this one and sending it in!
Trump was being interviewed by Maria Bartiromo on Fox yesterday (June 29, 2025). She asked him about the tariffs on China and he responded that Biden had a trillion dollar deficit with China, adding that “he (Biden) let them (China) take them (U.S.) over the coals.” This is a mashup of “rake them over the coals” (call to task or reprimand severely) and “take them to the cleaners” (cheat one out of one’s money or possessions). “Rake” and “take” seem to have confused the speaker here. You can hear this at the :39 mark:
The speaker was exasperated with an adversary in court. She told her husband, “Well, talking to him goes in one ear and out of his ass. It’s simply useless.” This is a mashup of “in one ear and out the other” (essentially ignored or forgotten almost immediately after being heard) and “talk out (of) (one’s) ass” (to talk nonsense or exaggerate one’s achievements). The speaker must have been thinking her adversary was an “ass” when she jumbled the two phrases. A shout out to Marykathryn Kopec for unintentionally uttering this one and sharing it with us! Paints an interesting picture.
Donald Trump appeared to get a little confused on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, as he attempted to lob an insult at his predecessor during a speech at Fort Bragg. “I’ve known this guy for a long time”, Trump said of former President Joe Biden. “He was never the sharpest bulb”. https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-says-joe-biden-was-never-the-sharpest-bulb/
This is a congruent conflation of “not the sharpest tool in the shed” and “not the brightest bulb in the pack”, both describing a slow-witted or dull person. While I have posted this one previously (and numerous variations), I thought that given the source and the context I would be remiss if I did not include this great one in the Malaphor library. Shout outs to Peter H, Karl Robins, and Buzz McClain for spotting this one and sending it in!
Marc Maron said this one on his podcast, WTF with Marc Maron. I believe this is a conflation of “closed- minded” (not willing to consider different ideas or opinions) and “thick-skinned” (insensitive to criticism or insults). Both idioms describe someone who is intolerant of others or things. “Thick as a brick” and “thick headed” (stupid, slow to learn or understand) might also be in the mix, as narrow minded people tend to be the most thick headed. Kudos to regular malaphor contributor Anthony Kovacs for hearing this one and sending it in!
New project management software was recently implemented, and it was difficult to understand. One colleague said he was having great success once he started using it, and that one just has to learn “the tricks of the game”. Meaning, one will have better success once one understands all features and shortcuts the software offers. This is a nice conflation of “rules of the game” (general standards, guidelines, or governing principles of how something is done) and “tricks of the trade” (certain clever techniques used to do something more easily or efficiently). Perhaps the speaker was thinking of taking tricks in a card game. A big thanks to Verbatim for reporting this one to Malaphor Central!
Two friends were discussing conflict resolution strategies that could be employed to get two other friends talking again. One said, “if we can just get them in the same room, it will be easy sailing” (to get them back on friendly terms). This is a congruent conflation of “smooth sailing” and “easy as pie” or perhaps “easy peasy”, all meaning for something to be easy and without problems. “Easy sledding” may also be in the mix, as “sledding” and “sailing” sound similar. Kudos once again to Verbatim for hearing this one and sending it in.
Last week on the show Deadline: White House, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was talking about Trump and his reckless behavior. He then uttered this nice congruent conflation of “shooting from the hip” and “flying by the seat of (one’s) pants”, both meaning to act or speak impulsively without planning in advance. Can’t help but think “shitting (one’s) pants” (to be extremely frightened) might also have been on the speaker’s mind. Kudos to Steve Messinger for hearing this one and sending it in!
Heard on April 6. A CNN correspondent was talking about a government lawyer’s legal argument in one of the many cases against the Trump administration. The correspondent opined that “he’s standing on shaky ice”. This is a congruent conflation of “on thin ice” and “on shaky ground”, both meaning to be in a precarious or risky position. This one is similar to a recent post – https://malaphors.com/2025/01/31/on-the-edge-of-very-thin-ice/ . Perhaps the speaker was thinking of a nice cocktail in the future.
Cheers to Tom Justice for hearing this one in his car and immediately sending it in!
A few people were watching the trailer for the new movie, F1, with Brad Pitt, and one remarked that the movie looks like “it keeps you on the edge of your toes”. This is a mashup of “on (someone’s) toes” (alert and active) and “on the edge of (one’s) seat” (excited, nervous). Both are very close in meaning. Maybe ballet talk? A big thank you to Kristen Ann for uttering this one and Anthony Kovacs for sending it in!
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