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!
It’s just putty around my fingers
Posted: January 15, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: congruent conflation, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, putty in my hand, words, wrapped around my little finger Leave a commentThis is another malaphor uttered by Jack de Golia’s wife. It appears to be a congruent conflation of “wrapped around my little finger” and “putty in my hands”, both describing someone easily manipulated or controlled. Both phrases are usually describing a person rather than a thing, so not sure what Ms. De Golia was referring to. Again, idioms referring to body parts are frequently mixed up in the clutter of our minds. Thanks Jack for sending this one in!
At the rate they’re calling flags….
Posted: November 24, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: calling penalties, congruent conflation, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, throwing flags, words 1 CommentAt last week’s USC-Cal football game, ESPN announcer David Pollack said, “at the rate they’re calling flags, you better make sure you’re on it.” This is a congruent conflation of of “throwing flags” (calling a penalty) with “calling penalties”. A big thanks to Laszlo Veres (Malaphor Senior Vice President, Eastern Region) for hearing this one and passing it on!
I was pounding the bushes
Posted: November 10, 2014 Filed under: pavement, pound | Tags: beat the bushes, congruent conflation, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, Our Mechanical Brain, pound the pavement, words Leave a commentThis is a wonderful congruent conflation of “beating the bushes” and “pounding the pavement”, both meaning to try very hard to achieve something. As the speaker said, “you’d think the alliteration would help me keep them straight”. I was actually pounding my bushes this weekend trying to dislodge all the leaves that had dropped on them. A big thanks to Peter from the blog “Our Mechanical Brain” for producing this great malaphor and passing it on! Check his blog out at Our Mechanical Brain
We were under the opinion that….
Posted: November 7, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: congruent conflation, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, of the opinion, under the impression, words 2 CommentsThis very subtle congruent conflation was heard in the episode “Deadly Disappearance” on the Series “Blood, Lies, and Alibis”. It is a mash up of “under the impression” and “of the opinion”. A big thanks to Laszlo Veres for spotting this one. He has ears like a hawk.
That would just be gravy on the icing
Posted: October 6, 2014 Filed under: cake, FOOD, gravy | Tags: congruent conflation, expressions, humor, icing on the cake, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, the rest is just gravy, words 1 CommentThe yuck factor is high on this one, but it’s a great malaphor. It was said by someone who was discussing the possibility of getting more money than she anticipated. This is a congruent conflation of “icing on the cake” and “the rest is just gravy”, both meaning an extra enhancement. Perhaps this one describes a little too much enhancement. Coincidentally, I received this malaphor from two people last week who don’t know each other so kudos to Deb Rose and Jonathan Ogle for sending this one in!
She’s a tough cookie to crack
Posted: September 27, 2014 Filed under: cookie, FOOD, nut | Tags: congruent conflation, congruent conflations, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, tough cookie, tough nut to crack, words Leave a commentThis is a congruent conflation of “tough cookie” and “a hard (or tough) nut to crack”, both describing difficult people to deal with. I suppose you can crack cookies, particularly if they are very stale. My mom would put a piece of bread in the cookie jar to avoid cracked cookies. A big thanks to Mary for blurting this one out, describing her very sassy cat. Apparently the cat is still a tough cookie to crack.
You nailed that right on the head
Posted: September 24, 2014 Filed under: BODY PARTS, head, nail, THINGS | Tags: congruent conflation, expressions, hit the nail on the head, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, nailed it, words 4 CommentsThis one comes to us courtesy of CBS Sports. Mike Carey, the “CBS Officiating Expert” on the NFL, said this beauty during the Denver-Kansas City game. This is a congruent conflation of “hit the nail on the head” and “nailed it”, both meaning to do exactly the right thing. This is a particular good one, as it is subtle and combines phrases with the same meaning. Some of the confusion lies in the visual of hammering a nail on its head. It is similar to “You hit it right on the nail”, reported on 8/29/12 in this website. A big thank you to Mike Kovacs for reporting this one!
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