Let’s do a White Santa Gift Exchange this year
Posted: June 29, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: malaphor, expressions, words, malaphors, mixed idioms, congruent conflation, language, humor 1 CommentThis nice malaphor was uttered unintentionally in a conversation. It is a congruent conflation of “White Elephant” and “Secret Santa”, both types of gift exchanges. This truly is a perfectly formed malaphor. Huge shout out to Kristen Ann for contributing this one and Anthony Kovacs for submitting it to Malaphor Central. I can’t wait to join in on that gift exchange!
We are behind the game
Posted: May 25, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: congruent conflation, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, words 1 CommentA 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I believe this is a congruent conflation of “behind the curve/times” and “not ahead of the game”, both meaning to be out of date or behind in new ideas or knowledge.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 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Australian slang, congruent conflation, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, words 2 CommentsA 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 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 93.7 the Fan, congruent conflation, expressions, flipping a coin, malaphor, malaphors, Pirates, rolling the dice, words Leave a commentThis 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 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: congruent conflation, expressions, fall on a grenade, funny, humor, idioms, malaphor, take a bullet for, Trump, words Leave a commentThis 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 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: congruent conflation, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, raise my hackles, ruffle my feathers, words Leave a comment
It struck a heart string with many
Posted: September 17, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: congruent conflation, expressions, malaphor, malaphors, strike a chord, tug on my heart strings, words Leave a commentThis 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 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: congruent conflation, humor, language, makes my skin crawl, malaphors, send shivers up my spine, word play, words Leave a commentThe 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 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: congruent conflation, idioms, malaphors, soup to nuts, start to finish, words Leave a commentOverheard 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 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: congruent conflation, expressions, Fox, humor, malaphor, stacked deck, tilt the scales, Trump, words Leave a commentA 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.
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