The business side always throws you a loop
Posted: June 9, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Andre Miller, blended idioms, congruent conflation, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, throws you a curve, throws you for a loop, washington wizards, words Leave a commentSometimes it’s those nasty little prepositions that cause the mix up. In this case, backup point guard Andre Miller, talking about his desire to return to the Washington Wizards, said this nice congruent conflation. See http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2080250-andre-miller-38-says-he-has-a-lot-more-years-left-before-retiring-from-nba It is a mash up of “throws you for a loop” and “throws you a curve,” both meaning something unexpected that upsets or confuses someone. I also think the imagery of someone tossing a life preserver into the water is in play here. A big thanks to Mike Browning for spotting this subtle but excellent malaphor!
It’s like the cherry on top of the cake
Posted: June 5, 2014 Filed under: cake, cherry, FOOD | Tags: Animal Planet, blended idioms, cherry on top, congruent conflation, expressions, humor, icing on the cake, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idiom, treehouse masters, words 5 CommentsThis one was heard on the Animal Planet tv show, Treehouse Masters. Daryl, the foreman, was referring to a door on the treehouse that looked like a sarcophagus. It is a congruent conflation of “icing on the cake” and “cherry on top”, both meaning an extra enhancement to something. There are certainly cherries that appear on the top of some cakes, but not as common as sundaes. In fact there is a Quebec idiom, “la cerise sur le sundae”, also with the same meaning but the cherry is on the sundae, not cake. A shout out to my high school buddy, Marti Fenimore, for sending this one in!
We need to get our ducks together
Posted: May 16, 2014 Filed under: ANIMALS, duck | Tags: congruent conflation, ducks in a row, expressions, get your shit together, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, words Leave a commentThis nice congruent conflation is a mash up of “get our ducks in a row” and “get our shit together”, both meaning to get organized. This beauty was uttered by the Mistress of Malaphors, Naomi David. Thanks again Naomi!
He really blew the boat
Posted: March 28, 2014 Filed under: boat, THINGS | Tags: blended idioms, blew his chance, congruent conflation, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, missed the boat, mixed idioms, words Leave a commentThe speaker was referring to someone who had missed a big opportunity. This is a congruent conflation of “missed the boat” and “blew his chance”, both meaning to miss an opportunity. For some reason, “flew the coop” also comes to mind because of the rhyming of “flew” and “blew”. Nothing else comes to mind. A big shout out to Naomi David for sending this one in!
Put the metal on the gas
Posted: February 22, 2014 Filed under: pedal | Tags: blended idioms, congruent conflation, expressions, gas, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, pedal, pedal to the metal, step on the gas, words 2 CommentsThis is a congruent conflation of “put the pedal to the metal” and “step on the gas”, both meaning to speed up. I heard this one on a tv sports show uttered by Wally Szczerbiak. He was discussing at halftime that the team behind needed to step it up.
They were going butt-to-butt
Posted: January 29, 2014 Filed under: BODY PARTS, butt, head | Tags: butt, butting heads, congruent conflation, expressions, head, head butting, head-to-head, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, words Leave a commentIn describing an angry argument, the speaker uttered this malaphor, a mash up of the phrases “head-to-head” and “butting heads”, both describing a confrontation or argument. Head butting also comes to mind, among other images… I will not display a picture for this malaphor. Many thanks to Naomi David for giving me this gem!
That’s a whole different ball of fish
Posted: January 24, 2014 Filed under: ANIMALS, ball, fish, kettle, THINGS | Tags: ball, congruent conflation, different ball of wax, different kettle of fish, expressions, fish, humor, kettle, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, wax, words Leave a commentThis is a mix of two phrases with the same meaning – “different ball of wax” and “different kettle of fish” (completely different or not at all similar). Fish ball soup might also be in the unconscious here (see picture). This type of malaphor involving phrases with the same or similar meanings is also referred to as a congruent conflation and is usually the most commonly uttered malaphor (and usually the best). Loyal follower David Spain unintentionally blurted this one out and referred it here. Thanks David!
She needs to get her ducks in order
Posted: December 23, 2013 Filed under: ANIMALS, duck, house, PLACES | Tags: blended idioms, congruent conflation, ducks in a row, expressions, house in order, humor, language, malaphors, Matt Lauer, MegaMillions, mixed idioms, Today, words 2 Comments
Cropped headshot of Matt Lauer (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Matt Lauer uttered this malaphor last week on the Today show. He said that the winner of the MegaMillions lottery “needs to get her ducks in order”, a mash up of “ducks in a row” and “house in order”, both meaning to get organized. This congruent conflation is probably commonly said, as ducks walk in an orderly fashion and also in a row, both conjuring up the same image. A big thanks to Victoria Ameel-Kovacs for sending this one in!
Ingrown players
Posted: December 9, 2013 Filed under: house, WORD BLENDS | Tags: blended idioms, congruent conflation, expressions, home-grown, humor, in-grown, in-house, Ingrown hair, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, words Leave a commentIf you have been following this blog and my website – http://www.malaphors.com – you know that the sports world is a gold mine for malaphors. This beauty was heard on a local sports radio talk show (Pittsburgh). A guy was talking about the Pirates and criticized the organization for focusing exclusively on “ingrown players” rather than seeking free agents. This is a congruent conflation of “home-grown” and “in-house”, both meaning something local or conducted within the organization. Just wondering, but was Tom Herr, the second baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals, an in-grown ballplayer? A big thanks to Justin Taylor for hearing this one and passing it along!
He dug himself into a corner
Posted: November 15, 2013 Filed under: dig, paint | Tags: blended idioms, congruent conflation, dig yourself a hole, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, Paint, paint yourself in a corner, words Leave a commentThis congruent conflation mixes the phrases “paint oneself in a corner” and “dig yourself into a hole”, both meaning an action that puts a person in a difficult situation. Kudos to Eric Marsh for sending this one in. He could not recall where he heard this one, but it could be referring to either the Republicans strategy of shutting down the government or President Obama’s statement that people can keep their existing health care coverage. Take your pick.
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