You have to be on your P’s and Q’s
Posted: December 2, 2014 Filed under: BODY PARTS, toes | Tags: expressions, humor, Ike Taylor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mind your p's and q's, on your toes, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh Steelers, words Leave a commentIke Taylor, a cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, was overheard saying:
“With a future Hall of Fame quarterback like Drew Brees, man, you have to be on your P’s and Q’s. He’s the captain of that team and it showed today. If he sees something, he’s going to hit it. He doesn’t miss a lot. Regardless of how much you feel like you’ve got him rattled, he stays in the pocket. He did what he needed to do today.”
This is an excellent malaphor, mixing “on your toes” (stay alert) and “mind your P’s and Q’s” (pay careful attention to one’s behavior). A big thank you to me for reading this in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
It was just like a mushroom bomb exploded
Posted: November 30, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: atomic bomb, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, mushroom cloud, words Leave a commentA big thanks to Barbjeanmiller, a malaphor subscriber, who sent me the following:
” This morning I described to my friend that when I emptied the dust collected in a bagless vacuum cleaner into the garbage can, it was just like a ‘mushroom bomb’ had exploded. My friend gave me a funny look. I realized then that I had combined ‘mushroom cloud’ and ‘atom bomb’.”
This is indeed a mix of “mushroom cloud” and “atom bomb”, with a mushroom cloud being formed from an atomic bomb. In case anyone wanted to know why a mushroom cloud is formed after an atomic explosion, here is the explanation:
“It all starts with an explosion that creates a Pyrocumulus Cloud. This ball of burning hot gases is accelerated outwardly in all directions. Since the burning ball of accelerated gases is hotter, and therefore less dense, than the surrounding air, it will begin to rise- in the case of nuclear explosions, extremely rapidly. This ultimately forms the mushroom cap.”
We don’t step on each others’ feathers
Posted: November 24, 2014 Filed under: BODY PARTS, feather, toes | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, ruffle someone's feathers, step on someone's toes, words 1 CommentThis wonderful malaphor comes from Matt Deppe, first time contributor to the site. Last week a friend was trying to explain to him why he and his house mate get along so well. “I guess it works so well because we don’t step on each others’ feathers”. This is a mash up of “step on someone’s toes” (to insult or offend someone) and “ruffle someone’s feathers” (to annoy or irritate someone).
At the rate they’re calling flags….
Posted: November 24, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: calling penalties, congruent conflation, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, throwing flags, words 1 CommentAt last week’s USC-Cal football game, ESPN announcer David Pollack said, “at the rate they’re calling flags, you better make sure you’re on it.” This is a congruent conflation of of “throwing flags” (calling a penalty) with “calling penalties”. A big thanks to Laszlo Veres (Malaphor Senior Vice President, Eastern Region) for hearing this one and passing it on!
while your business gets off its feet
Posted: November 21, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, get on your feet, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, off on the right foot, off the ground, words 1 CommentMalaphor hunter Yvonne Stam heard this one in her car while listening to Suze Orman’s book “the Money Class”. In the chapter on starting your own business, Orman says you need to have savings to tide you over “while your business gets off its feet”. This is a subtle mash up of “off the ground” (to get something started) and “on its feet” (to get someone back to normal). The phrase “getting off on the right foot” also comes to mind, which is probably what the speaker meant to say. Thank you Yvonne for sharing this one, but a warning to everyone: PLEASE do not malaphor hunt and drive at the same time.
I read it front to cover
Posted: November 17, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: back to front, cover to cover, expressions, humor, Jimmy Vivino, language, malaphor, malaphors, Marc maron, neologism, words Leave a commentThis terrific mixed idiom was heard on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast. Musician Jimmy Vivino was discussing his development in learning to arrange music and mentioned a book on orchestration that a teacher had given him that he read in its entirety. This is a combination of “front to back” and “cover to cover”, both meaning to have read something in its entirety. There is also a British expression, knowing “(something) back to front”, which also means to know something completely or in its entirety. How many of you have literally read a book front to cover, and decided that was enough? Liner covers do serve a useful purpose. A big thank you to Mike Kovacs, who listens and reads front to cover for malaphors.
He is shooting for the fences
Posted: November 16, 2014 Filed under: ACTION, shoot, swing, Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, Helene Cooper, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, Meet the Press, mixed idioms, shoot for, swinging for the fences, words 2 CommentsI heard this gem on this morning’s Meet the Press. Helene Cooper, a New York Times correspondent, was discussing President Obama’s proactive week, including his executive authority to issue an executive order regarding immigration. I believe she was wanting to say “swinging for the fences”, meaning to try and accomplish bold ideas, but mixed it with “shooting for (something)” meaning to aim for.
I was pounding the bushes
Posted: November 10, 2014 Filed under: pavement, pound | Tags: beat the bushes, congruent conflation, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, Our Mechanical Brain, pound the pavement, words Leave a commentThis is a wonderful congruent conflation of “beating the bushes” and “pounding the pavement”, both meaning to try very hard to achieve something. As the speaker said, “you’d think the alliteration would help me keep them straight”. I was actually pounding my bushes this weekend trying to dislodge all the leaves that had dropped on them. A big thanks to Peter from the blog “Our Mechanical Brain” for producing this great malaphor and passing it on! Check his blog out at Our Mechanical Brain
We were under the opinion that….
Posted: November 7, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: congruent conflation, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, of the opinion, under the impression, words 2 CommentsThis very subtle congruent conflation was heard in the episode “Deadly Disappearance” on the Series “Blood, Lies, and Alibis”. It is a mash up of “under the impression” and “of the opinion”. A big thanks to Laszlo Veres for spotting this one. He has ears like a hawk.
The humidity was off the roof
Posted: November 3, 2014 Filed under: PLACES, roof | Tags: Bobo, congruent conflations, expressions, howard stern, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, off the charts, through the roof, words Leave a commentThis nice congruent conflation is a mash up of “off the charts” and “through the roof”, both meaning much more than usual. It was heard on The Howard Stern show, uttered by that long-time caller to the program, Bobo. He was describing the climate in Florida. Many thanks to now Senior Vice President of Malaphors Mike Kovacs for hearing this one on the radio last week and passing it on.
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