Trump’s going to eat him apart
Posted: May 16, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Biden, eat him alive, humor, idioms, language, malaphor, tear him apart, Trump, words Leave a commentTwo people were overheard talking about upcoming the 2020 presidential debates between Trump and Joe Biden. One person said of Trump: “Trump’s going to eat him apart….” This is a nice congruent conflation of “eat him alive” and “tear him apart”, both meaning to overwhelm and defeat or dominate another. “Eat his lunch” might also be in the mix, as it has the same meaning as the conflated idioms. My guess is that Biden might be a little tough to chew. A big thank you to Verbatim for sending this one in!
The chips are starting to crumble
Posted: May 15, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Eric Trump, expressions, Huffington Post, humor, language, let the chips fall as they may, malaphor, that's the way the cookie crumbles, words Leave a commentThis beauty was tweeted by Eric Trump a few days ago. Here is the link to the tweet and malaphor responses:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/eric-trump-confuses-cliches-reaction_n_5ebcf01dc5b628279b41e292
It is a mashup of “when the chips are down” (when a situation has become difficult) and “that’s the way the cookie crumbles” (accepting the way things happen even if it’s not what you wanted). “let the chips fall as they may” (let a situation unfloed without worrying about the consequences) is probably also in the mix. It’s possible Eric was staring at the end of a bag of potato chips when he tweeted this, where all that’s left is the crumbles. Of course the best method to dispose of them is to tilt the bag to your mouth as the picture suggests (tip of the day!). Either that or Eric’s digits must have been greasy when typing that tweet. A big thanks to Dave Wells and Lou Pugliese who sent this one it at the same time.
Getting right up my goat
Posted: May 13, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: be up (one's) ass, expressions, getting my goat, humor, malaphor, words Leave a commentMy recent post “Is Papi pulling your goat?” (https://malaphors.com/2020/04/27/is-papi-pulling-your-goat/) prompted malaphor follower Claire to write: “I always use the phrase ‘getting right up my goat’ which I think might be a malaphor.” Yes, Claire, this is a congruent conflation of “get (one’s) goat” and “be up (one’s) ass”, both meaning to irritate of annoy someone. This mixed idiom is an improvement over the other two, I think. Might also be a new yoga expression. A big thanks to Claire for sharing this one.
Plenty of hurdles to climb
Posted: May 11, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Boston Globe, clearing a hurdle, expressions, football, humor, language, malaphor, many rivers to cross, mountains to climb, New England Patriots, words 2 Comments/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-bostonglobe.s3.amazonaws.com/public/VVX3U5BQCUI6VHNKZ2H5JJQG5I.jpg)
Patriots’ 2020 schedule released: Open vs. Dolphins at home; back-to-back games in Los Angeles in December
Every one of us has a ticking time bomb on our head
Posted: May 8, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Christina Stembel, expressions, humor, malaphor, price on our heads, sitting on ticking time bomb, words Leave a commentSpeaking on NPR’s Marketplace, Christina Stembel, CEO of Farmgirl Flowers, said this one when she was referring to the difficulties being experienced by small businessess during the pandemic and associated business shutdowns. It is a mashup of “price on our head” (an amount of money offered as a reward for one’s capture) and “sitting on a ticking time bomb” (a situation that will eventually become dangerous if not addressed). Maybe the speaker was thinking about the Erie pizza bomber? Not sure, but a big thanks to Mike Kovacs for hearing this one!
You’re making a really significant risk
Posted: May 6, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, Fauci, humor, idioms, language, making a mistake, malaphor, taking a risk, Washington Posta, words 2 CommentsThis was from a headline in the Washington Post: “Fauci warns states rushing to reopen: ‘You’re making a really significant risk.” This is a mashup of “making a mistake” (to do something incorrectly) and “taking a risk” (doing something with a high probability of a negative outcome). “Taking” and “making” are mixed up here. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/05/01/fauci-open-states-coronavirus/
A big thanks to Barry Eigen for spotting this subtle one.
It’s nerve curdling
Posted: May 4, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: blood-curdling, covid-19, humor, idioms, language, malaphor, malaphors, nerve-racking, Rachel Maddow, words 2 Comments
Salt Lake City is not through the weeds yet
Posted: May 1, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Eric Mendenhall, expressions, humor, in the weeds, malaphor, out of the woods, Salt lake City, words Leave a commentThis is the headline in a recent Salt Lake City Tribune newspaper article, discussing the city’s need to continue practicing social distancing and mask wearing because of the Covid-19 virus. Here is the headline:
https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2020/04/24/erin-mendenhall-salt-lake/
I think it is a mashup of “out of the woods” (out of danger) and “in the weeds” (consumed with details). “Weeds” and woods” sound similar, contributing to the mixup. Or perhaps Utah is thinking of legislating marijuana? A big thanks to Kathy Shand for spotting this beauty. @sltrib @slcmayor
That tops the cake
Posted: April 29, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: cake topper, expressions, humor, idioms, malaphor, malaphors, takes the cake, tops them all, words Leave a commentThe contributor’s mom said this one. It is a congruent conflation of “takes the cake” and “tops them all”, both meaning to win or be the most outstanding in some respect. My guess is that the speaker was also thinking of a cake topper. A big thanks to Mike Kovacs for hearing this one from his Mom and sending it in.
Is Papi pulling your goat?
Posted: April 27, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, get your goat, humor, idioms, malaphor, pulling your leg, words 2 CommentsYesterday over breakfast the contributor of this malaphor made some inane comment to his wife. Their 5 yr old granddaughter, who was visiting, then blurted out, “Is Papi pulling your goat?” This is a mashup of “pulling (one’s) leg” (kidding or teasing someone) and “get (one’s) goat” (to irritate or annoy someone). Certainly one can pull a goat, and vice versa (see pic). And the words “pull” and “get” are similar in meaning. Perhaps the little one had some pulled pork the night before. Adn if you haven’t had it before, “pulled goat” is pretty good as well.
Interestingly, the origin of the phrase “get your goat” derives from a tradition in horse racing. Thought to have a calming effect on high-strung thoroughbreds, a goat was placed in the horse’s stall on the night before the race. A big thanks to Dan Chavez who heard this one and sent it in.
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