We are behind the game

Posted: May 25, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A couple were looking at their au pair profile and outreach, and one said that their approach was not cutting it. They had seen other profiles with powerpoints, etc. One said, “I’m feeling like we are behind the game.” Given the context, I believe this is a congruent conflation of “behind the curve/times” and “not ahead of the game”, both meaning to be out of date or behind in new ideas or knowledge. A big shout out to Doree Simon Hatfield for unintentionally saying this one and Kevin Hatfield for sending it in!

I need to bag out

Posted: May 15, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A person texted: “I need to bag out of mah jongg this week”. This is a congruent conflation of “bag it” and “back out”, both meaning to cancel an ongoing activity. “Bag” and “back” sound similar so probably was the cause of the mixup. Interestingly, in Australia “bag out” means to criticize or insult someone in an unkind way. A big thanks to Susan Edwards for another great malaphor submission.

Baseball trades are like flipping the dice

Posted: June 10, 2019 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This is a perfect malaphor, compliments from the sports world.  Jack Zduriencik uttered this one on the Pittsburgh Pirates pre-game show on 93.7 The Fan.  It is a congruent conflation of “flipping a coin” and “rolling the dice”, both meaning to rely on chance or purely at random.  Coins and dice are both used in games of chance, such as craps.  Of course if you flip the dice in a craps game, chances are you’ll be ejected.  A big thanks to John Kooser for hearing this gem.

They would jump on a bullet for him

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

This was uttered when discussing the blind loyalty of Trump supporters.  It is a congruent conflation of “take a bullet for (someone)” and “falling (or jumping) on a grenade for (someone)”, both meaning to accept a personally harmful or sacrificial task to protect someone else.  Jumping on a bullet doesn’t seem like a great sacrifice to me, so perhaps this speaker was not such a loyal follower.  A big thanks to John Kooser for hearing this one.

My hackles were ruffled

Posted: February 6, 2019 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
This was overheard at a nearby table at breakfast.  This is a brilliant congruent conflation of “ruffle (ones’) feathers” and “raise (one’s) hackles”, both meaning to make one irritated or angry.  “Ruffle” and “raise” both begin with the letter r, possibly contributing to the mix.  By the way, do you know what “hackles” are?  Hackles are the hairs on the back of an animal’s neck, which stick up when the animal feels fearful or angry (late 1800s).  So, the two expressions involve some type of body covering sticking up, a perfect explanation of the mashup.  A bravo to Sam Edelmann who heard this one all the way from India.

It struck a heart string with many

Posted: September 17, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This beauty comes from a Fox News article about Wendy’s employees making a blind couple’s eating experience a good one.  The article states that “it struck a heart string with many.”  This is a congruent conflation of “strike a chord” and “tug at (one’s) heart strings”, both meaning to elicit a strong emotional response to something.  “Tugging” and “striking” are action words touching something and are probably the source of the mix up.  Certainly one can make “chords” with “strings”, and perhaps the author was thinking of “cords” instead of “chords” as cords are strings.  This is a classic malaphor.  A big thanks to Margaret Grover for spotting this one and sending it in.

I have heard my malaphor book, “He Smokes Like a Fish and other Malaphors”, available on Amazon, has struck many a heart string.  You can get it now for a cheap $6.99 (normally $7.99). https://www.amazon.com/dp/0692652205

 

It sent shivers up my skin

Posted: September 4, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The submitter was out with some friends for dinner when this was suddenly uttered.  An instant malaphor alert went off.  This is a nice, alliterative congruent conflation (best kind of malaphor, imho) of “send shivers up (one’s) spine” and “makes (one’s) skin crawl”, both meaning to cause to feel frightened or unnerved.  Spine and skin are mixed here, and the visual of shivers crawling.  Certainly your skin shivers when you’re cold, so the mixup is quite expected.  A big thank you to Steve Grieme for hearing this one and passing it on!

We did everything from soup to finish

Posted: August 31, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Overheard at a business meeting.  This is a congruent conflation of “from soup to nuts” and “from start to finish”, both meaning to provide for the full range, with the beginning to the end in mind.  Reminds me of an earlier one I posted, “let’s get down to the soup and nuts of it.” https://malaphors.com/2015/09/08/get-down-to-the-soup-and-nuts-of-it/

A big thanks to Dave Julian for hearing this one and Marianne Julian for passing it on!

The deck is tilted against Trump

Posted: August 19, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A very perceptive follower noticed at the bottom of the screen on Fox News a chyron read: “…in Mueller investigation deck tilted against Trump.”  This is a congruent conflation of “deck is stacked” and “the scales (balance) are tilted”, both meaning that one side has gained advantage.  You can’t tilt a deck of cards (unless you’re Penn Jillette).  A shout out to Eagle-Eared, and in this case, Eagle-Eyed, Frank King for spotting this one.

I’ve just spent the last thirty years busting my arse off

Posted: August 9, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This mix up can be heard by Gordon Ramsay on his Masterclass trailer.  It is a congruent conflation of “worked my arse off” and “busted my ass”, both meaning to work very hard at something.  The former idiom is heard primarily in the UK, while the latter is heard mostly in the US.  This malaphor, then, is perhaps an “across the pond” blend?  Maybe Ramsay spent too much time in Hollywood.  The posterior seems to be popular in malaphors.  To see more, type “ass” in the search engine on the website.  You’ll see such classics as “he was drunk out of his ass” and “you need to get your ass together”. https://malaphors.com/2015/08/27/you-need-to-get-your-ass-together/   https://malaphors.com/2018/06/28/he-was-drunk-out-of-his-ass/

A big thanks to Ben Glass who heard this one and sent it in.  You can hear the malaphor by clicking this link: https://www.masterclass.com/classes/gordon-ramsay-teaches-cooking

 

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