He’s laid down a line
Posted: September 19, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: draw the line, expressions, Harry Litman, humor, language, lay down the law, malaphor, malaphors, Trump, words Leave a comment
It struck a heart string with many
Posted: September 17, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: congruent conflation, expressions, malaphor, malaphors, strike a chord, tug on my heart strings, words Leave a commentThis beauty comes from a Fox News article about Wendy’s employees making a blind couple’s eating experience a good one. The article states that “it struck a heart string with many.” This is a congruent conflation of “strike a chord” and “tug at (one’s) heart strings”, both meaning to elicit a strong emotional response to something. “Tugging” and “striking” are action words touching something and are probably the source of the mix up. Certainly one can make “chords” with “strings”, and perhaps the author was thinking of “cords” instead of “chords” as cords are strings. This is a classic malaphor. A big thanks to Margaret Grover for spotting this one and sending it in.
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They want to take me to bat
Posted: September 12, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bat around, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, Omarosa, take me to task, Trump, words Leave a commentDuring an interview on MSNBC on Sunday, 9/9/18, Omarosa Manigault Newman uttered this mix up. It is a mash up of “take me to task (scold or reprimand) and I believe, given the context, “bat for the other team” (to support, secretly or openly, the opposing side of a given contest or debate). “Bat around” (hit something around) might also be in the mix, again given the context. A big thanks to Bob Smith for hearing this one and sending it in.
I am willing to eat my crow
Posted: September 10, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 937 The Fan, eat crow, eat my words, expressions, humor, Josh Taylor, language, malaphor, words Leave a commentFollowing up on yesterday’s malaphor, this one also was heard on the Pittsburgh sports radio call in show, 93.7 The Fan. This one was uttered by sports commentator and analyst Josh Taylor, who was saying that at the beginning of the season he thought the Pirates starting pitchers were not going to be good enough. He admitted he was wrong, and then said this nice congruent conflation of “eat crow”, and “eat my words”, both meaning to confess being wrong about a prediction. “Eat” is in both idioms which produced no doubt the mashup. “I’ll eat my hat” must also be in the mix (thanks “my ol’ pal”!), as Josh made a prediction that he had to admit later was wrong. Eating one’s hat is the result. Then again, eating one’s own crow might really be admitting error. A big thanks once again to John Kooser for hearing this one and passing it on!
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He was sleeping on the switch
Posted: September 9, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, malaphor, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Ron Cook, The Fan 93.7, words Leave a commentOn a Pittsburgh sports radio call-in show called The Fan, Ron Cook (an excellent Pittsburgh Post Gazette Sports writer and sports show commentator) hung up on a caller who did not answer in time. He then said the caller was “sleeping on the switch”. This is a congruent conflation of “asleep at the switch” and “sleeping on the job”, both meaning to be inattentive. “Asleep at the wheel” might also be in play, but I doubt it as the mix up is with the prepositions “at” and “on”. A big thanks to John Kooser who was certainly not sleeping on the switch when he heard this one.
lumps in the ointment
Posted: September 2, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Don McGahn, expressions, fly in the ointment, humor, lumps in the gravy, malaphor, Rachel Maddow, Trump, words Leave a commentRachel Maddow said this one when she was describing Don McGahn’s cooperation with the Special Counsel in an effort to avoid John Dean’s fate. Basically she was saying that McGahn was not the apparent hero he seems because of his apparently selfless cooperation, and that there were a few “lumps in the ointment.” This is a mashup of “lumps in the gravy” (problems or stumbling blocks) and “fly in the ointment” (flaw that detracts from something positive) l up of Lumps in the gravy, flies in the ointment. “Take (one’s) lumps” (to accept the punishment one deserves) might also be in the mix (or should I say gravy?). And then again, maybe Rachel was thinking of Frank Zappa…..
A big thanks to “my ol’ pal” Beatrice Zablocki for hearing this one and sending it in!
He can drink anybody under the bus
Posted: August 29, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: drink someone under the table, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, throw him under the bus, words Leave a commentThis was overheard at the Hillstone Restaurant, Winter Park FL. A very drunk lady was talking to her friend. It is a mashup of “drink someone under the table” (to drink more alcohol than someone else) and “throw (someone) under the bus” (to exploit someone’s trust for one’s own purpose). My guess is that the speaker was thinking of a bus boy, someone who cleans tables at a restaurant. This is the connection between bus and table. Also, “under” is in both expressions, no doubt contributing to the mental mix up. A big thanks to Tom Justice for hearing this one and sending it in!
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The fish stinks from the head
Posted: August 26, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Barbara Boxer, Chris Hayes, expressions, humor, idioms, malaphor, MSNBC, stinks to high heaven, the fish rots from the head down, Trump, words 3 CommentsSenator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) uttered this on the Chris Hayes show (Ali Velshi filling in) the other night, referring to Trump. She said, “The Italians have an expression ‘the fish stinks from the head’.” Well, actually, the expression is “the fish rots from the head down”, meaning bad leaders damage an organization, and her comment mixes the idiom “stink to high heaven”, meaning to be or seem extremely corrupt or disreputable. Rotting sure gives off a stink so it is understandable that the speaker got confused. Another big thank you to Frank King, our MSNBC Malaphor Reporter.
My anxiety is out of the roof
Posted: August 24, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, malaphor, malaphors, out of this world, through the roof, words Leave a commentThis was overheard in a disability hearing. It is a nice mashup of “through the roof” (to rise to a very high level) and “out of this world” (extraordinary). The word “roof” seems to be the cause of a lot of idiom jumbles. Check out other “roof malaphors” in the search engine. One I vividly recall is “the shit hit the roof”. https://malaphors.com/2014/09/20/the-shit-hit-the-roof/. A big thanks to Sam Edelmann for sharing this one.
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They would throw him to the fishes
Posted: August 20, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Don McGahn, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, MSNBC, Steve Cohen, swimming with the fishes, thrown to the wolves, Trump, words Leave a commentRepresentative Steve Cohen (D – TN) was talking on MSNBC about the New York Times report that White House counsel Don McGahn has been cooperating with the Mueller investigation team for the past year. Cohen was speculating that McGahn felt at risk of Trump using him as a fall guy in the obstruction of justice probe, and so uttered this beauty. It is a mashup of “thrown to the wolves” (to sacrifice someone in order to protect others) and “swimming (or sleeping) with the fishes” (a gangster cliche meaning to be murdered). Both idioms refer to a person who gets hurt; hence, the mix up. Cohen may also have been thinking about the mafia way of doing business and the White House way of doing business. A big thanks to chief malaphor hunter Mike Kovacs for hearing this one and sending it in.
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