You’re picking hairs
Posted: May 18, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, idioms, malaphor, nitpicking, splitting hairs, words Leave a commentA father and daughter got into an argument about their calico cat, and whether her markings were splotches or patches. The daughter said her Dad was being trivial, and then uttered this malaphor. It is a congruent conflation of “splitting hairs” and “nitpicking” or “picking (something) apart”, all meaning to make small or overfine distinctions. Hope no one has trichotillomania. A shout out to a familiar name on this website, John Kooser (aka “the Dad”) for sending this one in.
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!
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
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.
They help put all the ducks in place
Posted: April 20, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: ducks in a row, expressions, fall in place, humor, idioms, language, malaphor, words Leave a commentMy wife and I heard this one on the PBS Newshour. A person was talking about how her parents are helping her during the pandemic. This is a congruent conflation of “put your ducks in a row” and “fall in place”, both meaning to be organized or things fitting well. I supposed one needs to put the ducks in their place when arranging them in a row.
I went around his back
Posted: April 15, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, idioms, jennifer Aniston, Jimmy Kimmel, language, malaphor, went around him, went behind his back, words Leave a commentAt first blush, this sounds right but on closer inspection I think it’s a bona fide malaphor. In an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, Jennifer Aniston said this one when she was talking about auditioning for a role on the soap opera in which her Dad was a regular cast member. It’s a congruent conflation of “go behind (someone’s) back” and “go around”, both meaning to do something secretly or without your permission. This subtle mashup required someone with the ears of a hawk and that would be none other than Mike Kovacs, a regular contributor to this website. Thanks Mike!
I’m going to go with my first gut
Posted: April 10, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: first impression, gut feeling, humor, idioms, malaphor, malaphors, mashup, words Leave a commentA college student was tired of over thinking multiple choice test questions and said this malaphor. It is a nice mashup of “first impression” (opinion formed on first meeting someone) and “gut feeling” (an instinct or intuition about something). Both expressions involve immediate reactions to something, and are visceral in nature. Of course, a tight belt forms a first and second gut as well. A big thanks to John Kooser who heard this one and passed it on.
But what if the whole thing goes belly under?
Posted: April 6, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: belly up, covid-19, expressions, go under, humor, idioms, malaphor, words Leave a commentThe speaker, who is a flight attendant, was talking to her son about possibly taking a voluntary leave of absence in light of covid-19, but fearful about the financial status of her airline company that she works for. This is a nice congruent conflation of “going under” and “going belly up”, both referring to a business that goes bankrupt or cleases to exist. This is a directional (“under” vs. “up”) mixup, common in the malaphor world. A big thanks to Jody Compton for uttering this one, recognizing it as a bona fide malaphor, and sending it in.
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