That train has sailed
Posted: November 13, 2015 Filed under: ACTION, sail, train, Uncategorized | Tags: Austin Powers, congruent conflation, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, that ship has sailed, that train has left the station, words 1 CommentThis is a congruent conflation of “that ship has sailed” and “that train has left the station”, both meaning the act has already been done. It was said by Austin Powers in the movie Austin Powers, International Man of Mystery, when he was speaking to a drunk Vanessa:
She was very groovy.
Your dad loved her very much.
If there was one other cat in this world that could have loved her and treated her as well as your dad then it was me.
But unfortunately for yours truly that train has sailed.
Vanessa?
Vanessa? Hello?
A big thanks to Sam Edelmann for hearing this one. Oh behave!
Let’s get to the chase
Posted: October 28, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: congruent conflation, cut to the chase, expressions, get to the point, howard stern, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, words Leave a comment
Cough it over
Posted: October 6, 2015 Filed under: cough, Uncategorized | Tags: congruent conflation, cough it up, expressions, hand it over, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, words 1 CommentThis brilliant little gem was uttered accidentally by my neighbor and friend, Char Stone. It is a nice congruent conflation of “cough it up” and “hand it over”, both meaning to produce or present something. Both phrases have three words, share the word “it”, and contain direction words. Also, one generally puts a hand over a cough to prevent germs from spreading, perhaps adding to the confusion. It’s also a nice phrase to use when watching a cat attempt to cough up a hairball. Thanks Char for this one!
Keep your mouth down
Posted: July 27, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: congruent conflation, expressions, humor, keep it down, keep your mouth shut, language, malaphor, malaphors, The Watch, words 1 CommentThis is a great congruent conflation of “keep your mouth shut” and “keep it down”, both meaning to keep quiet. “Keep” is the shared word that adds to the confusion. It was heard on the movie “The Watch”. Here’s the context (heroes talking to the skeptical police):
There’s aliens in the store.
Oh yeah? Aliens. Where?
It was right over there until you scared it. Now keep your mouth down.
http://www.subzin.com/quotes/M5919500d3/The+Watch/Now%2C+keep+your+mouth+down.
A big thanks to Barry Eigen for spotting this one and passing it on!
I have a lot of plates up in the air
Posted: July 17, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: a lot on my plate, balls in the air, congruent conflation, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, words Leave a commentHeard on a conference call, this is a great congruent conflation of “a lot of balls in the air” and “a lot on my plate”, both meaning having a great deal or too much to deal with. My guess is that the speaker was also thinking not only of ball juggling but also plate spinning, both common juggling acts. Thanks to John Costello for hearing this one and passing it on!
His head between his tail
Posted: June 27, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: congruent conflation, expressions, hanging your head, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, tail between your legs, words Leave a commentThe other day on Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough was commenting on Donald Trump’s announcement that he was running for president, “[I]f people think he’s going to get one person and crawl away with his head between his tail, they probably have it wrong.” Body parts are certainly the source of many malaphors. I think this is a congruent conflation of “putting your tail between your legs” and “hanging your head”, both expressions meaning feeling ashamed or embarrassed. As the contributor Louis Mande says, ” Either way, I agree. Neither one describes The Donald.” Thanks Louis for hearing this one and sending it in!
It was like pulling blood out of a stone
Posted: April 23, 2015 Filed under: ACTION, pull, stone, THINGS | Tags: congruent conflation, expressions, getting blood from a stone, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, pulling teeth, words Leave a commentThis is a perfect congruent conflation. It mixes “getting blood out of (or from) a stone” and “like pulling teeth”, both phrases meaning to do something with great difficulty. The speaker was finding a particular essay difficult to write and remarked that writing it was like pulling blood out of a stone. A big thanks to Red C. for sending this one in from the U.K.
We have to keep our finger on the ball
Posted: March 23, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: congruent conflation, expressions, eyes on the ball, finger on the pulse, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, words 4 CommentsThis beauty was heard on a conference call by Gary Kelly, a faithful malaphor follower. It is a congruent conflation of “finger on the pulse” and “eyes on the ball”, both involving attention and monitoring something. The mash up also conjures up the image of Lucy keeping her finger on the football and letting go just as Charlie Brown goes to kick it. This is another malaphor mixing body parts, something that seems to happen frequently. A big thanks to Gary Kelly!
They kept him instead of cutting him free
Posted: March 8, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: basketball, congruent conflation, cut him loose, expressions, Georgetown University, Hoyas, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, set him free, Tyler Adams, words Leave a commentMy wife is a big Georgetown University basketball fan. She was relating a story about Tyler Adams, a huge recruit a few years ago who subsequently was diagnosed with arrhythmia and could not play competitive basketball. Instead of dropping his scholarship, the University gave him a medical waiver. He stayed on the team and earned his degree. My wife said, “they kept him instead of cutting him free.” We looked at each other and realized it was a malaphor moment, and I wrote it down immediately so I wouldn’t forget (the good ones tend to fade away…). This is a congruent conflation of “cutting him loose” and “setting him free”, both meaning to let go. The link contains a very nice story of Adams and his final regular season game as a Hoya:
Read my words: Houston does not get out of the first round this year.
Posted: February 13, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: congruent conflation, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mark my words, read my lips, words Leave a commentIn a discussion about the NBA, this speaker uttered a malaphor that harkens back to the George H.W. Bush era. This is a nice congruent conflation of “mark my words” and “read my lips”, both expressions meaning to pay attention to what I say. Another winner brought to you by Katie Hatfield!
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