Bockage
Posted: June 24, 2017 Filed under: WORD BLENDS | Tags: box, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, package, portmanteau, WORD BLENDS Leave a commentThe speaker meant to say “package” but this came out. It is a nice word blend malaphor of “box” and “package”. Since most packages in the mail now come in boxes, thanks to Amazon and the internet, “bockage” was eventually going to be spit out by someone. And really, isn’t it a nice word? Sounds like the lord of the manor pronouncing “package”. Also could be used when there are delays in shipping: “Sorry, we have a bockage right now”. A big thanks to Martin Pietrucha who accidentally blurted this one out and shared it immediately!
If you like this word blend check out my book on malaphors entitled “He Smokes Like a Fish and other Malaphors”, available on Amazon. Just click this link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0692652205. There’s a whole chapter devoted to word blends, which are not portmanteaus, by the way (explanation in the book!).
It tickled my fancy bone
Posted: June 23, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, it tickled my funny bone, language, malaphor, malaphors, tickled my fancy, words Leave a commentThis is a nice mash up of “tickled my fancy” and “it tickled my funny bone” (to make someone laugh). To laugh and be curious at the same time? Perhaps, but in this case just another great malaphor. Tickle is the culprit here, as well as the similar sounding words “fancy” and “funny”. A big thanks to “Curious Steph” who wrote this accidentally. By the way, she is starting a new blog – curioussteph.com, Check it out.
They’re getting ready to lower the bomb on them
Posted: June 20, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: drop the bomb, expressions, humor, language, lower the boom, malaphor, malaphors, words 2 Comments
Anne of Seven Gables
Posted: June 16, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Anne of Green Gables, expressions, humor, language, Lucy Maud Montgomery, malaphor, malaphors, Nathaniel Hawthorne, The House of the Seven Gables, words 4 Comments
That game was a real nail-breaker
Posted: June 12, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized, WORD BLENDS | Tags: expressions, heart-breaker, humor, ice breaker, language, malaphor, malaphors, nail-biter, Pittsburgh Penguins, Stanley Cup, words Leave a commentI just heard this nice word blend malaphor today. A couple of guys in the sauna were talking about the Penguins/Predators final game for the Stanley Cup and one blurted this out. It is a mash up of “nail-biter” (a situation whose outcome is marked with nervous apprehension) and “heart-breaker” (a situation that causes great sadness). Since the subject was hockey, perhaps “icebreaker” (to initiate a conversation or get it started) was also on the speaker’s mind.
At the drop of a beat AND Hold the brakes
Posted: June 8, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: at the drop of a hat, congruent conflations, expressions, First Dates, hit the brakes, hold your horses, humor, in a heartbeat, language, malaphor, malaphors, NBC, words 4 CommentsDouble malaphor!! This is as rare as a double rainbow sighting. Both of these malaphors were heard on one episode of the NBC show First Dates. “At the drop of a beat” is a congruent conflation of “at the drop of a hat” and “in a heartbeat”, meaning to do something immediately. Hat and heart might be the culprits here, and perhaps the speaker thinking of the slang phrase “dropping a beat”, meaning to play a beat. See http://onlineslangdictionary.com/meaning-definition-of/drop-a-beat.
“Hold the brakes” is another congruent conflation of “hit the brakes” and “hold your horses”, both meaning to stop something. Hold and hit are probably the culprits in this mashup. Outstanding work goes to Steve Grieme for hearing both of these, sending them in, and offering the above deconstruction of each phrase. Steve is now given the official title of “Malaphor Man”.
She’s not a shrinking flower
Posted: June 6, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, shrinking violet, wallflower, words Leave a commentThis is a nice congruent conflation of “shrinking violet” and “wallflower”, both describing someone who is shy. The confusion is obvious: violets are flowers. The speaker (who was me by the way) may have also been mixing shrinking with stinking. The local conservatory, the Phipps, has a corpse flower, which emits a smell akin to rotting flesh when it blooms, and the day I uttered this malaphor the flower had bloomed and there was a great deal of news about it.
Recent Comments