It’s a changing of the torch
Posted: November 21, 2012 Filed under: ACTION, guard, THINGS, torch | Tags: blended idioms, changing of the guard, expressions, malaphors, mixed idioms, passing the torch, torch, words Leave a commentWe’ll be here ’til the cows come to Capistrano
Posted: November 20, 2012 Filed under: ANIMALS, Capistrano, cow | Tags: Alabama, Birmingham, blended idioms, expressions, malaphors, mixed idioms, San Juan Capistrano California, swallows return to Capistrano, till the cows come home, words Leave a commentThis beauty was uttered by Alabama State Representative John Rogers, in response to questions about his protests outside a hospital that is about to be closed. This is a mash up of “until the cows come home” (for a very long time) and the song “when the Swallows come back to Capistrano”. Warning: when you visit San Juan Capistrano, be sure and watch out for cow droppings from the sky….
http://blog.al.com/archiblog/2012/11/why_not_give_rep_john_rogers_w.html
Thanks to David S. for sending this one to me all the way from Birmingham.
English: Basilica San Juan Capistrano, California, United States. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
If you can’t cut the cheese, get out of the kitchen
Posted: November 19, 2012 Filed under: cheese, FOOD, kitchen, mustard | Tags: blended idioms, can't cut the mustard, cut the cheese, expressions, malaphors, mixed idioms, words Leave a comment
cheeses (Photo credit: uberculture)
This malaphor combines several thoughts, resulting in a humorous saying. Certainly “can’t cut the mustard” (one who cannot meet the required standard) and ” if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen” (don’t persist in a task if it is too much for you) are involved, but what about “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em”? Also let’s not forget “who cut the cheese”? (who farted?) Given these idioms and sayings, I think it is more appropriate to say, “if you cut the cheese, get out of the kitchen”.
She has a memory like a hawk
Posted: November 17, 2012 Filed under: ANIMALS, elephant, hawk | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, eyes like a hawk, hawk, malaphors, memory like an elephantp, mixed idioms, words Leave a commentThis is a conflation of the idioms “memory of an elephant” (excellent recall) and “eyes like a hawk” (very perceptive). The speaker has his animals and senses mixed up it seems. Or, perhaps hawks have excellent memories?
It’s not his cup of wax
Posted: November 16, 2012 Filed under: FOOD, tea, wax | Tags: ball of wax, blended idioms, cup of tea, expressions, malaphors, mixed idioms, words Leave a commentThis malaphor was heard on the T-ball field from a parent whose son kept an eye on outfield ants and flowers rather than the ball. It is an amusing blend of “not my cup of tea” (do not like it very much) and “the whole ball of wax” (the entire thing or affair). A big thanks to Cam O. who heard this one and sent it to me.
The 800 pound gorilla in the room
Posted: November 15, 2012 Filed under: ANIMALS, elephant, gorilla | Tags: 800 pound gorilla, blended idioms, elephant in the room, expressions, malaphors, mixed idioms, words 1 CommentThis one comes from the Chicago Tribune, on a story about malaphors. Here is an excerpt:
“One particular idiom blend pops up with such regularity that it appears poised to replace the phrase from which it sprung.
In a recent New York Times story about the economic
state of Youngstown, Ohio, a community development director called the city’s large swath of vacant properties the “800-pound gorilla in the room.”
An 800-pound gorilla usually refers to someone or something so large and powerful that it lives by its own set of rules. Its origins can be found in a riddle:
Question: “Where does an 800-pound gorilla sleep?”
Answer: “Anywhere it wants to.”
It’s also used to describe a dominant player. Urban Dictionary defines it thusly: “An overbearing entity in a specific industry or sphere of activity. A seemingly unbeatable presence always to be reckoned with; whose experience, influence and skill threatens to defeat competitors with little effort.”
Sometimes the gorilla surpasses a mere 800 pounds. (“Whose the 900-pound gorilla now?” asked a headline on a recent tech story about Facebook overtaking Google as the biggest web site in 2010. Sometimes the gorilla sheds a few hundred pounds. ( Colorado’s governor-elect was quoted last month calling the state’s billion-dollar shortfall “the 600-pound gorilla.”)
And sometimes the gorilla is an elephant.
“The elephant in the room” refers to an obvious truth that no one is addressing. A health educator in California’s Central Valley was quoted earlier this week saying, “If there’s an elephant in the room with the obesity epidemic, it’s soda consumption.”
Sometimes the elephant in the room is pink, further underscoring how difficult it would be to overlook the metaphorical pachyderm.
So when idiom meets idiom and the proverbial room is filled with a proverbial gorilla, are we ignoring an obvious overbearing, unbeatable force? Or simply replacing the elephant with another giant animal for variety sake?
Regardless, the saying’s meaning remains more or less intact. And a little blending keeps our age-old idioms from getting stale.”
No time to waste like the present
Posted: November 14, 2012 Filed under: TIME | Tags: blended idioms, Dan Quayle, expressions, malaphors, mixed idioms, no time like the present, waste no time, words Leave a commentPerhaps this is a motto of our time. This beauty is a blend of “no time like the present” (do it now) and “no time to waste” or “waste no time” (let’s get on with it.). As my ol’ pal observes, the malaphor is quite accurate as the only time we can waste is in the present. It also reminds me of the infamous Dan Quayle quote, “What a waste it is to lose one’s mind” (he was trying for “A mind is a terrible thing to waste”).
He dropped like a light
Posted: November 13, 2012 Filed under: ACTION, drop, light, rock, THINGS | Tags: blended idioms, boxing, dropped like a rock, expressions, football, malaphors, mixed idioms, out like a light, words Leave a commentI heard this one on an NFL broadcast years ago, describing a player who was knocked out by a ferocious hit. The malaphor is a mash up of “dropped like a rock” and “out like a light”, both meaning to get knocked out immediately (although the latter also means to go to sleep quickly).
Living on the edge of the envelope
Posted: November 12, 2012 Filed under: envelope, THINGS | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, high risk, living on the edge, malaphors, mixed idioms, pushing the envelope, words Leave a commentThis is a mash up of “living on the edge” and “pushing the envelope”, both meaning to take a chance. It might describe a real daredevil, always taking risks in life. That probably describes my career in the Federal government. I recall deciding to switch health plans once…
That really stuck in my ear
Posted: November 11, 2012 Filed under: BODY PARTS | Tags: blended idioms, caught my eye, expressions, malaphors, mixed idioms, stuck in my mind, words Leave a commentThe more I think about this one, the more I like it. I think the speaker was trying to say “stuck in my mind (or brain)” (something repeatedly thought about) and perhaps was listening to something. The idiom “caught my eye” (brought to my attention) was also in play here. “Stuck in my craw” (something that makes one angry) might have been part of the thinking process but “stuck in my mind or brain” is probably the mix-up here. How many times have you had a tune or a fragment of a song go through your head repeatedly, essentially “stuck” in the recesses of your mind? This malaphor describes that situation perfectly, and may be the perfect blend of “caught my ear” and “stuck in my mind”..
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