I have a lot of balls in the fire
Posted: July 17, 2013 Filed under: ball, fire, irons, THINGS | Tags: air, balls, balls in the air, blended idioms, expressions, fire, humor, irons, irons in the fire, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, words Leave a commentOuch! This is a mix up of “irons in the fire” (a number of jobs or possibilities at the same time) and “balls in the air” (many things happening at once). A big thanks to Martin Pietrucha for sending this one in.
They deserve a good clap on the back
Posted: July 10, 2013 Filed under: back, slap, wrist | Tags: blended idioms, clap, conflations, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, pat on the back, slap on the wrist, WESA, words Leave a commentI heard this one today on our local public radio station, WESA. The speaker was referring to the ACLU pursuing lawsuits against Pennsylvania laws supporting DOMA in response to the recent Supreme Court decision. He meant to say “pat on the back” (praise), but seems to have confused “slap on the wrist” (mild punishment) and “clap your hands”. Certainly clap as used as a noun has another meaning so my guess is he meant to say “pat”.
You still need boots on the pavement to gather the facts
Posted: July 7, 2013 Filed under: boots, pavement | Tags: blended idioms, boots, boots on the ground, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, pavement, pounding the pavement, words Leave a commentThis malaphor was uttered by Carl Hiassen while being interviewed on Orlando’s local public radio station, WMFE. He was referring to the fact that even though many persons are now getting their news information from the internet instead of print newspapers, “you still need boots on the pavement to gather the facts.” This is a nice mash of “boots on the ground” (troops in place) and “pounding the pavement”.(walking the streets, particularly in looking for employment). A big thanks to Tom Justice for hearing this one!
We have a few dark sheep in the family
Posted: July 2, 2013 Filed under: horse, sheep | Tags: black sheep, blended idioms, dark horse, expressions, horse, humor, language, Legend of Tennessee Moltisanti, malaphors, mixed idioms, sheep, Sopranos, words 2 Comments
The Sopranos title screen. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
This is a mash up of “black sheep” (disreputable member of a group) and “dark horse” (something or someone who is little known and rises to prominence). It was uttered in The Legend of Tennessee Moltisanti, the eighth episode of the first season of The Sopranos.:
Dr. Reis: You know, on my mother’s side, we have a few dark sheep.
… Louis “Lepke” Buchalter, you know, Murder Incorporated. My mother’s
uncle was Lepke’s wheel man, his driver.
I don’t want to toot my own hat
Posted: June 17, 2013 Filed under: CLOTHING, hat, horns, THINGS, toot | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, hat, horn, humor, Jean Quan, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, toot, toot your own horn, words Leave a comment
English: Photo of Mayor Jean Quan from her 2010 Campaign (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
This malaphor was spoken by Jean Quan, the mayor of Oakland, and appeared in the October 2012 issue of San Francisco Magazine. She meant to say “toot my own horn” (brag), and I think mixed that up with “take my hat off” (pay respect to someone or brag on them), but it could be just a mix up of the visual at a birthday party with party hats and horns. “Feather in one’s cap” also comes to mind, as well as “tip my hand”. Any other suggestions out there would be welcome. A tip of the toque to Mike Kovacs for spotting this one.
I’ve seen the gamut
Posted: June 12, 2013 Filed under: gamut, run | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, run the gamutd, words 1 CommentThis is a mixture of “run the gamut” and “seen it all”, both meaning to cover a wide range. This was heard at a legal conference where the speaker was referring to being involved in a wide range of cases and experiencing a lot. Thanks to John Costello for sending in this subtle but common gem.
I finally got the monkey off my shoulders
Posted: June 3, 2013 Filed under: back, monkey, shoulders | Tags: back, blended idioms, expressions, humor, Indianapolis 500, Indy 500, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, monkey, monkey off my back, shoulders, Tony Kanaan, wieight off my shoulders, words 1 Comment
The former logo of Mike and Mike in the Morning until May 4, 2007. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
This is a mash up of “monkey off my back” and “a weight off my shoulders”, both meaning to get rid of a big problem. Kudos to Mike Browning who heard this gem on the Mike & Mike talk show last week. Tony Kanaan was talking about finally
winning the Indy 500, and said that the victory finally got “the monkey
off my shoulders.” Malaphors occur frequently when there are two similar meaning idioms referring to body parts, particularly in close proximity.
I’m not going to buy anything on whole cloth
Posted: May 29, 2013 Filed under: buy | Tags: blended idioms, buy into, Chris Christie, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, Matt Lauer, mixed idioms, New Jersey, Today (NBC program), whole cloth, words Leave a commentThis mash up of “buy into (something)” (to accept or believe in something) and “out of whole cloth” (without foundation or not based on fact) was heard by Mike Kovacs on the Today show recently. Talking about scientists’ theories on whether Hurricane Sandy was caused by climate change, NJ Governor Chris Christie told Matt Lauer he was “not going to buy anything on whole cloth.”
Governor of New Jersey at a town hall in Hillsborough, NJ 3/2/11 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
It was so quiet you could hear a mouse drop
Posted: May 27, 2013 Filed under: mouse | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, mouse, mouse droppings, quiet as a mouse, so quiet you could hear a pin drop, words Leave a commentThis is a mad mixture of “so quiet you could hear a pin drop” and “quiet as a mouse”, but the speaker must have had “mouse droppings” on his mind as well. My guess is that when a mouse does crap it’s pretty quiet, but that’s only a guess. Really. Props to Marianne Julian for hearing this malaphor.
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