Two things caught my eyebrow this week

Posted: March 25, 2019 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

This was spotted on a facebook post.  Sounds painful.  It’s a nice mashup of “caught (one’s) eye (attention)” (attract one’s attention) and “raised a few eyebrows” (to elicit shock or surprise through unconventional actions or words).  Both idioms involve the eye, and both involve getting one’s attention.   I’m surprised that, considering the times we live in, there were only two things… A big thanks to Yvonne Stam for noticing this one and sending it in.

It caught my mind

Posted: February 1, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: BODY PARTS, mind | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

I heard this one from Senator Jon Tester of Montana on the Bill Maher show this week.   It is a mash up of “caught my eye” and I think “bring to mind”, both meaning to cause one to think of someone or something.   The words mind and eye sound similar and are both located in the head, perhaps adding to the conflation.  I like this one as it is subtle and still descriptive of the thought.

That really stuck in my ear

Posted: November 11, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: BODY PARTS | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The 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”.. 

* * *