Squirmish
Posted: January 20, 2016 Filed under: WORD BLENDS | Tags: Donald Trump, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, New York times, portmanteau, Sarah Palin, skirmish, squirm, words Leave a commentMalaphors are not just idiom blends, but can be word blends as well (if you click on the category Word Blends you will find the ones I have posted). This word blend was uttered by Sarah Palin in her speech endorsing Donald Trump for President. She uses it in this context:
“And you quit footing the bill for these nations who are oil-rich, we’re paying for some of their squirmishes that have been going on for centuries. Where they’re fighting each other and yelling ‘Allahu akbar,’ calling jihad on each other’s heads forever and ever. Like I’ve said before, let them duke it out and let Allah sort it out.”
It is a mash up of “squirm” (to wriggle the body from side to side) and “skirmish” (a brief fight between small groups). While one might argue that this is actually a portmanteau, I would disagree. A portmanteau is an intentional combination of two (or more) words or morphemes, and their definitions, into one new word, such as smog (smoke and fog). A word blend malaphor is unintentional (I believe Ms. Palin did not mean to say “squirmish”) and it does not create a new word that means something (I don’t think). Kudos to John Costello for finding this one and passing it on!
The RNC has to thread the line carefully when dealing with Trump
Posted: December 15, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Donald Trump, expressions, humor, Katy Tur, language, malaphor, malaphors, MSNBC, RNC, thread the needle, walk a fine line, words Leave a commentThis gem was overheard on MSNBC. Correspondent Katy Tur was commenting on the Republican National Committee (RNC) walking a tight rope with respect to Donald Trump, and ended by uttering this malaphor. It is a congruent conflation of “thread the needle” and “walk a fine line”, both meaning to strike a balance between conflicting or different forces. Perhaps she was thinking of threading a fishing line? A big thank you to Louis Mande for hearing this one and passing it along.
(Trump) shoots from the cuff
Posted: September 5, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Donald Trump, malaphors, Megyn Kelly, off the cuff, shoot from the hip 2 CommentsMegyn Kelly was talking about Trump’s encounter with Jorge Ramos:
KELLY: When he got up there, you know, in his speech, he was talking about how he thinks they should ban Teleprompters for these politicians. These presidential candidates which I think, you know, the President actually uses a teleprompter pretty much in most places he goes. But I don’t know that the candidates have been. But the point is, there is a realness to Donald Trump that is missing from so many of these other candidates. They do tend to sound rehearsed and stilted. He is never rehearsed. Obviously he shoots from the cuff and he says everything that comes to his mind which has gotten him in some trouble but I think helps him more than it hurts him. And people are very much connecting to that.
I have posted this malaphor earlier (see March 2014 entry) but it bears repeating, considering the timeliness of this excellent mixed idiom. Shoot from the cuff is a mash up of “shoot from the hip” and speaking “off the cuff”, both meaning to speak spontaneously and frankly. (Also see “shoot from the lip” in my Politics section). Thanks to Sandor Kovacs and Vicki Kovacs for both spotting this one!
I have a pulse to the ground
Posted: July 21, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Donald Trump, ear to the ground, expressions, finger on the pulse, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, New York times, words Leave a commentThis timely malaphor was recently uttered by Donald Trump. An article in the July 20, 2015 New York Times quotes The Donald:
“I have a pulse to the ground,” he added. “I think I know what’s wrong with the country, and I think I’ve been able to portray that in a way that people agree with.”
This is a conflation of “have my finger on the pulse” (to be familiar with the most recent developments) and “have my ear to the ground” (to watch and listen carefully to what is happening around you). Lots going on with this one. Fingers go into ears, etc. This one is similar to the March 23, 2015 entry, “keep your finger on the ball”. https://malaphors.com/?s=pulse A big thank you to Paula Garrety for seeing this one and passing it on!
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