That’s a whole different ball of fish
Posted: January 24, 2014 Filed under: ANIMALS, ball, fish, kettle, THINGS | Tags: ball, congruent conflation, different ball of wax, different kettle of fish, expressions, fish, humor, kettle, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, wax, words Leave a commentThis is a mix of two phrases with the same meaning – “different ball of wax” and “different kettle of fish” (completely different or not at all similar). Fish ball soup might also be in the unconscious here (see picture). This type of malaphor involving phrases with the same or similar meanings is also referred to as a congruent conflation and is usually the most commonly uttered malaphor (and usually the best). Loyal follower David Spain unintentionally blurted this one out and referred it here. Thanks David!
He’s a wet fish
Posted: November 12, 2013 Filed under: ANIMALS, fish | Tags: blended idioms, cold fish, expressions, fish, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, wet blanket, words Leave a commentThis great malaphor is a blend of”wet blanket” and “cold fish”, both reflecting rather sour personalities, the former a depressing person who spoils others’ enjoyment, and the latter a person who does not seem very friendly and shows little emotion. Fish of course are always wet (unless grilled I suppose) which may have been in the speaker’s mind as well. For some reason a dead fish handshake also seems in play here. I personally am going to start using this expression as there are people out there who fit both categories. John Costello gets the kudos for this one, as he unintentionally uttered this malaphor when he was describing a person who is kind of a dour drip. I hope it wasn’t me!
I’ve got better fish to fry
Posted: August 2, 2013 Filed under: fish, fry | Tags: Batman Returns, better things to do, bigger fish to fry, blended idioms, Catwoman, Christopher Walken, expressions, fish, fry, humor, language, malaphors, Max Shreck, mixed idioms, Tim Burton, words 2 CommentsThis one comes from the Christopher Walken character in the movie Batman Returns:
Charles ‘Chip’ Shreck: Dad, you buy that “blurry” business?
Maximillian’Max’ Shreck: Women. Nothing surprises me, Chip, except your late
mother. Who’d have thought Selina had a brain to damage. Bottom line,
she tries to blackmail me, I’ll drop her out a higher window. Meantime, I
got better fish to fry.
It’s like shooting ducks in a barrel
Posted: January 16, 2013 Filed under: ACTION, ANIMALS, barrel, duck, shoot, THINGS | Tags: blended idioms, ducks, ducks all in a row, expressions, fish, malaphors, mixed idioms, shooting fish in a barrel, wordplay, words 2 CommentsThis is a mash up of “shooting fish in a barrel” (easy action with guaranteed success) and “all your ducks in a row” (getting everything in order), submitted by a loyal follower, the TruroTattler. Given the enormous amount of google hits, this is a common malaphor, as ducks appear to be as easy a target as fish. Also shooting mechanical ducks in a penny arcade shooting gallery is certainly playing on the mind in this one.
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