He cleared muster
Posted: July 17, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Chris Matthews, cleared for approval, congruent conflation, expressions, humor, malaphor, MSNBC, pass muster, Rachel Maddow, Trump, words Leave a comment“The Master” strikes again. Chris Matthews uttered this beauty on the Rachel Maddow show on July 9, 2018, referring to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. It is a congruent conflation of “passed muster” and “cleared for approval”, both meaning to be accepted as adequate. Pass/clear is the mixup here. Anyone who visits this site regularly knows Mr. Matthews is a malaphor goldmine. A big thanks to “Eagle-Ear” Frank King, the Mental Health Comedian, for hearing this one and sending it in.
Will it pay fruit?
Posted: June 23, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bear fruit, Chris Matthews, expressions, humor, malaphor, malaphors, pay dividends, pay off, Trump, words Leave a comment“The Master of Malaphors” Chris Matthews said this beauty on his show on June 13, talking about Cohen possibly flipping on Trump. It is a congruent conflation of “pay off”, “pay dividends”, and “bear fruit”, all meaning to yield positive benefits or results. Let the flipping begin, and see the many bananas and apples appear.
By the way, loyal followers might cry foul on this one as I posted this malaphor last November. https://malaphors.com/2017/11/22/our-hard-work-is-finally-starting-to-pay-fruit/ True, but when “The Master” speaks, I must post. A big thanks to “Hawkear” Frank King for hearing this one.
The fish rots from the top
Posted: May 17, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: a fish rots from the head down, Chris Matthews, expressions, humor, malaphor, malaphors, top of the ladder, Trump, words Leave a comment‘The (new) Master” has spoken yet again. Chris Matthews uttered this mashup as he was discussing the Trump staffer who said about McCain, “he’s dying anyway”. This is a mix of the idioms “a fish rots from the head down” (when an organization fails, the chief executive is the root cause) and “top of the ladder (or food chain)” (the position of most importance). The “head” is certainly at the “top” of a person, which could have cause Mr. Matthew’s mental hiccup. This is one of many from his lips, so please loyal followers, watch Mr. Matthews with baited ears. A big thanks to Frank King for hearing this Matthewism and sending it in.
Dancing on eggs
Posted: May 3, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Chris Matthews, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, tap-tancing around, walking on eggshells, words Leave a commentThe new malaphor “Master” Chris Matthews, just described a delicate verbal situation as “dancing on eggs.” This is a beautiful mashup of “walking on eggshells” (to act with great care not to upset someone) and “(tap) dancing around” (evade a question). Both phrases involve careful speaking hence the mixup. Also walking and dancing are similar actions, contributing to the malaphor. Malaphor hunters will witness a goldmine of malaphors by listening to this guy. I am in awe. A big thanks to Beatrice Zablocki for hearing this one and passing it on
He gets a clean bill of goods
Posted: April 30, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: a clean bill of health, Chris Matthews, expressions, humor, malaphor, malaphors, MSNBC, sold a bill of goods, words Leave a commentThis was heard on MSNBC’s Hard Ball, and uttered by the new “Master of Malaphors”, Chris Matthews (I think I have posted at least four from this guy). It is a nice mashup of “”sold a bill of goods” (deceive someone) and “clean bill of health” (a report confirming the absence of fault in a person or thing). “Bill” is the commonality here. Not sure if Chris is having a few martinis before each show, but if so, I hope he continues. A big thanks to Super Malaphor Hunter Mike Kovacs for hearing this one! @hardballChris
It’s dead as a cucumber
Posted: September 23, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Chris Matthews, cool as a cucumber, dead as a door nail, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, Trump, wordplay, words Leave a commentChris Matthews from MSNBC was referring to the Graham-Cassidy Health Bill when he uttered this beauty. He immediately realized his mistake and then said “dead as a door nail” but it was too late. The malaphor is in the books. It is a mashup of “dead as a door nail” (undoubtedly dead) and “cool as a cucumber” (extremely calm and in control of your emotions). Certainly when you are dead you are pretty cool temperature-wise. Perhaps this is what Mr. Matthews was thinking. I’m glad cucumbers are dead. I still remember live tomatoes in the movie “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.” A big thanks to “my ol’ pal” Beatrice Zablocki for hearing this one and passing it on quickly.
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She’s trying to walk this needle
Posted: November 21, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Boston Globe, Chris Matthews, congruent conflation, expressions, humor, Kelly Ayotte, language, malaphor, malaphors, thread the needle, toe the line, walk a fine line, words Leave a commentThe election is over, but the malaphors continue to flood in. This one was heard on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews. Discussing Kelly Ayotte’s (R-NH) response to the question of Donald Trump being a role model, James Pindell of the Boston Globe uttered this gem. It is a congruent conflation of “walk a thin (fine) line” and “thread the needle”, both meaning to skillfully navigate through a tough dilemma. “Toe the line” might also be in the mix, with the speaker thinking toes do the walking. A big thanks to Sally Adler for hearing this one and sending it in!
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