It’s petering down
Posted: November 19, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, Heidi Przybyla, humor, idioms, language, malaphors, Morning Joe, MSNBC, petering out, Trump, winding down, words Leave a commentNo, this was not said in an erectile dysfunction commercial, but rather by Heidi Przybyla on MSNBC’s Morning Joe the other day. She was talking about the Mueller investigation. It is a congruent conflation of “petering out” and “winding down”, both meaning to slowly come to a conclusion or end. Another tip of the hat to Frank King for spotting this one. He has the ears of a hawk.
We did everything from soup to finish
Posted: August 31, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: congruent conflation, idioms, malaphors, soup to nuts, start to finish, words Leave a commentOverheard at a business meeting. This is a congruent conflation of “from soup to nuts” and “from start to finish”, both meaning to provide for the full range, with the beginning to the end in mind. Reminds me of an earlier one I posted, “let’s get down to the soup and nuts of it.” https://malaphors.com/2015/09/08/get-down-to-the-soup-and-nuts-of-it/
A big thanks to Dave Julian for hearing this one and Marianne Julian for passing it on!
The fish stinks from the head
Posted: August 26, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Barbara Boxer, Chris Hayes, expressions, humor, idioms, malaphor, MSNBC, stinks to high heaven, the fish rots from the head down, Trump, words 3 CommentsSenator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) uttered this on the Chris Hayes show (Ali Velshi filling in) the other night, referring to Trump. She said, “The Italians have an expression ‘the fish stinks from the head’.” Well, actually, the expression is “the fish rots from the head down”, meaning bad leaders damage an organization, and her comment mixes the idiom “stink to high heaven”, meaning to be or seem extremely corrupt or disreputable. Rotting sure gives off a stink so it is understandable that the speaker got confused. Another big thank you to Frank King, our MSNBC Malaphor Reporter.
He’s running the shots
Posted: August 17, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: calling the shots, cnn, expressions, idioms, malaphors, Mueller, New Day, running the show, Trump, words Leave a commentThis excellent malaphor was uttered by a CNN reporter on the program New Day on 8/9/18. The reporter was referring to Mueller, and his ongoing negotiations with Trump’s legal team with respect to an interview with Trump. It’s a congruent conflation of “running the show” and “calling the shots”, both referring to someone who is in control of the situation. “Show” and “shot” are both four letter words that have similar sounds, and I suspect the reason for the mental mix up. A big thank you to Mike Kovacs for hearing this one and sending it in.
He’s turning over a new lease on life
Posted: July 20, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: a new lease on life, expressions, humor, idioms, malaphor, malaphors, turning over a new leaf, words Leave a commentThis perfectly formed malaphor is a mashup of “turning over a new leaf” (to change one’s behavior, usually in a positive way) and “a new lease on life” (a new chance for happiness, usually after a hardship). “New” is common to both idioms, and the words “lease” and “leaf” are similar sounding. Both I think contributed to the mental mix up. A big thanks to Martin Pietrucha for sharing this one with the malaphor world.
If you liked this malaphor you’ll love my book on the subject, “He Smokes Like a Fish and other Malaphors”, available on Amazon for a cheap $6.99. A must for every bathroom library.
Parents should stick to their ground involving kids’ names
Posted: July 6, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, hold your ground, humor, idioms, language, malaphor, stick to your guns, words 2 CommentsI guess that means names like Sandy and Muddy? This was spotted on Quora, an internet platform to ask questions and get answers. It is a great congruent conflation of “stick to your guns” and “hold/stand your ground”, both meaning to refuse to yield or compromise. “Ground” and “guns” both start with a G and have a similar sound, hence the mental mix up. A big thanks to Margaret Grover who spotted this one and sent it in!
He’s bald as a bat
Posted: May 19, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bald as a coot, blind as a bat, humor, idioms, malaphor, words Leave a commentA work colleague was attempting to describe why a helmet might feel uncomfortable for a customer, saying “Admittedly he’s bald as a bat. This is a nice mashup of “bald as a coot (or cue ball)” (completely bald) and “blind as a bat” (having poor vision). I like the alliteration here but bats indeed have hair. Coots are not bald either. Coots have prominent frontal shields or other decoration on the forehead, with red to dark red eyes and coloured bills. Many, but not all, have white on the under tail. The featherless shield gave rise to the expression “as bald as a coot,” which the Oxford English Dictionary cites in use as early as 1430. A shout out to Gibbon for hearing this one and sending it in.
Enjoyed this malaphor? Then you would love my book “He Smokes Like a Fish and other Malaphors”, available on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/dp/0692652205
He’s not the brightest fish in the shed
Posted: March 10, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: humor, idioms, malaphor, malaphors, not the only fish in the sea, wordplay, words Leave a commentIn the continuing series on malaphors describing those who are not very intelligent, I give you this “three way malaphor”. It is a tri-mashup of “not the sharpest tool in the shed” and “not the brightest bulb in the chandelier”, both describing someone who is not very smart, combined with “not the only fish in the sea” (plenty of other suitable persons). I have posted multiple variations of this subject in the past, including “not the brightest knife in the drawer”, “not the brightest bulb in the shed”, and “not the sharpest bulb in the shed”. It just shows that we may want to look in the mirror every once in awhile. A big thanks to Kimberly Gorgichuk for hearing this one and passing it on.
To add salt to injury
Posted: February 16, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: add insult to injury, eggcorn, eggcorns, idioms, malaphor, malaphors, rub salt in the wound, words 1 CommentThis mixup was found in the following newspaper:
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/commentary-what-can-a-chief-commuter-engagement-officer-do-to-9928296
It is a congruent conflation of “to rub salt in the wound’ and “to add insult to injury”, both meaning to deliberately make someone’s misfortune or unhappiness worse. “Wound” and “injury” are similar meaning words, probably creating the mental mashup. Now if the writer had written “add-in salt to injury” that would be an eggcorn. An eggcorn is a similar sounding phrase spelled differently. Because of the similar sounding words, this is a very common malaphor, with over 2,300,000 hits, according to Google. A big thanks to Eve for spotting this one.
They make you jump through too much red tape
Posted: February 15, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, idioms, jumping through hoops, malaphor, malaphors, red tape, words Leave a commentThe speaker was referring to insurance companies. This is a nice mix of “jump through hoops” (to complete or face many challenges to achieve something) and “red tape” (bureaucratic rules that are overly strict or tedious). Both expressions refer to a series of challenges or events, contributing to the confusion. “Cutting through red tape” is what the speaker really wants. A big thanks to John Kooser for uttering this one and sending it in.
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