Taking the world by the horns
Posted: October 26, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: blended idioms, Dateline NBC, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, words 2 CommentsThis one was heard on the podcast Dateline NBC, “The Betrayal of Kirby Carpenter at 00:01:54. This is a mashup of “taking the bull by the horns” (dealing with a difficult situation with confidence and in a very direct way) and “taking the world by storm” (quickly becoming extremely successful). It’s also the name for the semester abroad program at the University of Texas. Another big thanks to Frank King for spotting this one and sending it in.
You hate to second judge another cop
Posted: March 13, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Dateline NBC, expressions, humor language, judge, malaphor, malaphors, second guess, words Leave a commentBack to back malaphors from Dateline NBC. This one was heard on the episode “In Broad Daylight”: “You hate to second judge another cop, but there were mistakes made.” This is a mix of “second guess” (predict what someone will do before it is known) and “judge” – not really a mix of two idioms but more like a word blend than a malaprop. A tip of the hat to Laszlo Veres for hearing this one and sending it in!
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