Consumers tighten their wallets

Posted: November 1, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fox News anchor Kayleigh McEnany was discussing rising grocery prices, and noted that budget meal Hamburger Helper was making a comeback. She said, “one tried and true brand is making a big comeback as consumers tighten their wallets – Hamburger Helper.” This is an incongruent conflation (mix of two idioms with opposite meanings) of “tighten (one’s) belt” (live more frugally) and “lighten (one’s) wallet” (spend money, usually more than expected). The similarly sounding words “lighten” and “tighten” may have played a role in the mix up. Here’s the quote:

A big thank you to Frank King for spotting this one and sending it in!

Everyone runs for the fences

Posted: July 22, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Martha MacCallum on Fox News said this nicely formed malaphor.  It is a mashup of “run (or head) for the hills” (depart quickly) and “swing for the fences” (to act or perform with maximum intensity).  In baseball, you swing and then run, and that is possibly the mental image the speaker had when she uttered this one.  Also, the word “for” is common in both phrases.  A big thanks to Ralph Aikman for hearing this one and sending it in.