A bigger piece of the pot
Posted: March 31, 2014 Filed under: FOOD, pie | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, piece of the pie, sweeten the pot, words Leave a commentI think this is a mash up of “bigger piece of the pie” (share of something) and “sweeten the pot” (make something more desirable). Pie and pot are three letter words starting with p, increasing the confusion. Also in poker the pot is the collection of money to be won, often being divided in card games so that one may get a “share” of the pot. Thanks to Martin Pietrucha who heard this in a presentation.
He really blew the boat
Posted: March 28, 2014 Filed under: boat, THINGS | Tags: blended idioms, blew his chance, congruent conflation, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, missed the boat, mixed idioms, words Leave a commentThe speaker was referring to someone who had missed a big opportunity. This is a congruent conflation of “missed the boat” and “blew his chance”, both meaning to miss an opportunity. For some reason, “flew the coop” also comes to mind because of the rhyming of “flew” and “blew”. Nothing else comes to mind. A big shout out to Naomi David for sending this one in!
I’m shooting from the cuff
Posted: March 21, 2014 Filed under: ACTION, CLOTHING, cuff, shoot | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, New York Knicks, off the cuff, Phil Jackson, shoot from the hip, words 1 CommentThis is a wonderful malaphor involving the phrases “off- the- cuff” (speak spontaneously without rehearsal) and “shooting from the hip” (speaking frankly). Phil Jackson, in deciding to take over the New York Knicks, uttered this malaphor at the beginning of his acceptance speech. Click on the link below and then click on the video in the link.. He says, in the opening sentence, that “I’m shooting from the cuff.” Thanks to Martin Pietrucha for hearing this one and passing it on!
Phil Jackson shook hands with New York Knicks owner James Dolan, walked gingerly to the podium and comfortably lifted the microphones to fit his 6-foot-8 frame.
“I don’t have prepared remarks, as you can see,” Jackson said, practically bragging. “I’m shooting from the cuff.”
That really took the starch out of my sails
Posted: February 25, 2014 Filed under: sails, starch, THINGS | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, humor, knocked the starch out of me, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, take the wind out of my sails, words Leave a commentThis is a conflation of several phrases. The speaker was talking about his near death experience while cycling, so “it knocked the starch out of me” (to be beat up severely) may be in the mix, but I think the better phrase is “it took the starch out of me” (it made me tired or weak) as he was scared. The other phrase is probably “it knocked the wind out of my sails” (heavy blow to the body) rather than “taking the wind out of my sails” (challenging someone’s boasting or arrogance). A big shout out to Tom Justice for sending this one in!
Put the metal on the gas
Posted: February 22, 2014 Filed under: pedal | Tags: blended idioms, congruent conflation, expressions, gas, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, pedal, pedal to the metal, step on the gas, words 2 CommentsThis is a congruent conflation of “put the pedal to the metal” and “step on the gas”, both meaning to speed up. I heard this one on a tv sports show uttered by Wally Szczerbiak. He was discussing at halftime that the team behind needed to step it up.
That will bring some skeletons crawling out of the woodwork
Posted: February 17, 2014 Filed under: closet, crawl, woodwork | Tags: blended idioms, closet, crawling out of the woodwork, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, skeletons, skeletons in the closet, woodwork, words 1 CommentThis is a delightful mixture of “skeletons in the closet” (secrets) and “crawling out of the woodwork” (secrets coming out in the open). The confusion lies in the two phrases referring to secrets and exposing them. I heard this in a conversation but I cannot reveal the source as I was sworn to secrecy. We can’t have these malaphors crawling out of the woodwork, can we?
We have so many hurdles to cross
Posted: February 15, 2014 Filed under: hoops, hurdles, PLACES, river, THINGS | Tags: blended idioms, clear hurdles, crossing the rubicon, expressions, humor, Jimmy Cliff, jump through hoops, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, rivers to cross, words Leave a commentThis is a mash up of “clear a hurdle” (overcome an obstacle) and I think “rivers to cross” , borrowed from the great Jimmy Cliff song “Many Rivers to Cross”, based on the context of the malaphor. “Crossed the Rubicon” (taken action with no return) also comes to mind. “Jumping through hoops” (to do extra things to get what you want) might also be in the mix, confusing hoops and hurdles. Thanks to Sam Edelmann for spotting this one!
Wake up and smell the roses
Posted: January 16, 2014 Filed under: coffee, FOOD, roses, THINGS | Tags: blended idioms, Coffee, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, roses, stop and smell the roses, wake up and smell the coffee, words 1 CommentThis common malaphor (many hits on the internet) is a mixture of “wake up and smell the coffee” (try to pay attention to what is going on), “come up smelling like a rose” (succeeding from a bad situation) and “stop and smell the roses” (enjoy what’s around you). The latter was a title to a 1974 hit song by Mac Davis. This malaphor is similar to “please stop and smell the daisies” published on August 30, 2013. Many thanks to Sam Edelmann for unintentionally uttering this one and passing it along!
Throwing red meat on the fire
Posted: January 14, 2014 Filed under: fire, meat, THINGS | Tags: add fuel to the fire, blended idioms, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, throwing red meat, words 1 CommentThis great mash up of “adding fuel to the fire” (making matters worse) and “throwing red meat” (appease or excite followers) was just heard on the local NPR station, WESA. The speaker may have been thinking of old Boy Scout days of dangling meat on a campfire. Certainly in most cases red meat needs to be cooked, so it makes sense that the two phrases were mixed up in the recesses of the brain. The mind is like a big cookie jar, and sometimes when you pull a cookie out it breaks, and you are left with halves of two different cookies. That is what we do with idioms and phrases, on occasion, and the result is a delectable malaphor. A big thanks to Rob Blackburn for sending this one in!
When all the balls are in line
Posted: January 11, 2014 Filed under: ANIMALS, ball, duck, THINGS | Tags: balls in the air, blended idioms, congruent conflations, ducks in a row, expressions, fall in line, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, stars aligned, words Leave a commentChristopher Dolan, the California lawyer who is representing the McMath family who has a brain dead daughter, said regarding litigation against the hospital, “What we needed to know is that when all the balls are in line that we could move quickly and not have to then have any impediments.” This is a mash up of “ducks in a row” and “fall in line”, both meaning to have things properly organized. “Stars aligned” might also be in the mix as that phrase also means things happen in an organized way and also line rhymes with aligned. Also “many balls in the air” might be at play since the speaker used the word balls and was referring to many things happening, although not at once. Thanks to Ron Marks for sending this one in!
http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1401/04/ndaysat.01.html
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