Both of their backs were up against a corner

Posted: July 21, 2020 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dylan Bank, director of the documentary “Get Me Roger Stone!” was interviewed on CNN about Trump’s commutation of Stone’s sentence.  Bank was saying that time was running out for both Trump and Stone as Stone was having to report to prison.  This nice malaphor was then uttered.  You can find it in the transcript here:

https://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/2007/13/cnr.12.html

This is a near perfect congruent conflation of “backed into a corner” and “back to the wall”, both meaning to be in a high-pressure situation with no escape.  I did post this malaphor last year when Yamiche Alcindor, PBS journalist, said a similar mixup. https://malaphors.com/2019/09/27/they-have-their-backs-up-against-the-corner/?fbclid=IwAR1vaRUEYsSOIg1IFCxK4DGhZ8Uppno_D1ASi0_GlZKK6UyknvGo56EnL28  However, it was too good to pass when offered up a second time.  A big thanks to Steve Hubbard and Jim Kozlowski who both spotted this one and sent it in almost at the same time.

That’s a big fish to swallow

Posted: July 17, 2020 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

The speaker meant to say “a bitter pill to swallow” (an unwanted or unpleasant situation that someone is forced to accept) but apparently had fish on his mind.  This is a mashup of “a bitter pill to swallow” and “big fish in a small pond” (a person who is important in a limited arena).  Fish do get swallowed up by other fish and they do swallow hooks, so these pictures might have been on the speaker’s mind as well.  Or maybe he was thinking of the classic movie, “Big Fish”.  A shout out to Sandor Kovacs for hearing this one and Mike Kovacs for reporting (and saying) it.  

The Chinese are spending multiple billions of dollars trying to own the technology of the future while we sit with our thumb in our ear

Posted: July 13, 2020 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden uttered this one in his speech last week in Dunmore, PA.  I believe this is a body part mashup of “close your ears (to something)” or “fingers in your ears” (ignore something) and “have (one’s) thumb up (one’s) ass” (not doing what you should be doing).   Not sure this one was on the teleprompter.  If not, perhaps Joe changed his mind mid- phrase when he was about to utter the word “ass”.   You can find the quote here:  https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/09/joe-biden-economic-plan-355416

A big thanks to Fred Martin and Beatrice Zablocki for both catching this one live and sending a quick email to me.  I have a feeling that the next few months will bring an abundance of malaphors.  Keep your eyes and ears peeled!

We stemmed that curve

Posted: July 10, 2020 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
This is another “curve” malaphor brought to you by Frank King.  His last one was “we turned the curve”, heard on the MSNBC show “All In with Chris Hayes.  https://malaphors.com/2020/07/01/we-turned-the-curve/
This one was also heard on the same show, this time from Harris County (Texas) Judge Lina Hidalgo.  It is a congruent conflation of  “stem the tide” and “flatten the curve”, both meaning to stop the course of a trend or tendency.  You can hear this one on the Monday night, July 6, 2020 show.  It does not seem that the malaphor curve will ever be stemmed.  Another tip of the hat to Frank King for hearing this one.
Please do not stem the curve of the rising sales of my latest malaphor book, “Things Are Not Rosy-Dory”: Malaphors From Politicians and Pundits.”  It’s available NOW on Amazon. Click this link to purchase:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08C7GGMG5?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860

She’s the last person on the totem pole

Posted: July 8, 2020 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment
The speaker was saying how his wife would be last to be called back to work because she’s a recent hire, and that “she’s the last person on the totem pole”.  This is a mashup of “low man on the totem pole” (person with the least amount of experience in a social or business setting) and “be the last (person) to (do something)” (very unlikely to do something).  Regarding the phrase, “low man on the totem pole”, there is an interesting explanation found in the Free Dictionary:
The humorist H. Allen Smith used this phrase as the title of a book (1941) after the radio comedian Fred Allen had used the term to describe him in an introduction to an earlier book.  The position on an actual totem pole bu the way, has no such signficiance.  Nevertheless, the term caught on quickly enough to become a cliche.
A big thanks to Sam Edelmann who overheard this one and passed it on.
Don’t be the last person on the totem pole to get my latest malaphor book, “Things Are Not Rosy-Dory:  Malaphors From Politicians and Pundits”.  It’s available now on Amazon in paperback or kindle.  Let me tell you, it’s a real page burner!  Here’s the link:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08C7GGMG5?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860

Can you imagine living in a mind frame like that?

Posted: June 29, 2020 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The speaker was commenting on another person’s political statement that was based on a lie rather than fact.  It is a rare, three-way malaphor, combining “frame of mind” (mental or emotional attitude or mood), “mindset” (a person’s attitudes or opinions formed from earlier experiences), and “living in a world of (one’s) own” (consumed by one’s thoughts or imagination).  A big thanks to David Barnes for hearing and spotting this unicorn in the malaphor wilds.

There is a silver lining at the end of the tunnel

Posted: June 24, 2020 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

At first blush, this looked more like a mixed metaphor than a malaphor, but on close inspection it is indeed a mashup of two idioms.  This one comes from the local news in Baltimore:  a  Baltimore City official was giving an update on trash/garbage pickup problems, and trashmen were off work as a result of the coronavirus.  Here is the quote:

“This last week has been extremely difficult for everyone involved, but there is a silver lining at the end of that tunnel,” Chalmers said. “The Eastern District will be back up and running tomorrow. If you can’t hear the sigh of relief in my voice, I’m glad that they’re coming back.”

https://www.baltimoresun.com/coronavirus/bs-md-ci-baltimore-dpw-update-20200623-moj7dcuxvjakjhpntqd2rnblwi-story.html

It is a mix of “every cloud has a silver lining” (every bad situation holds the possibility of something good) and “light at the end of the tunnel” (a period of hardship is nearing its end).  Both expressions involve a bad situation turning better, so this malaphor perhaps means a doubly bad situation made doubly better?  Or maybe the official was thinking of silver linings for the trashcans.  A big thanks to Fred Martin for hearing this one and sending it in!

Things kind of petered off

Posted: June 8, 2020 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This unfortunately comes from a sad passage in an article about Covid-19 deaths, but it’s a malaphor nonetheless. Here’s the sentence: “And then things kind of petered off a little bit in those areas, and now we’re kind of seeing it getting closer and wondering when we’re gonna have to deal with this. But again, we’re preparing for it as best as we can in the hospitals that I’m working for.” This is a congruent conflation of “petered out” and “tapered off”, both meaning to diminish gradually and then stop.   Here’s the link to the article: https://link.esquire.com/view/5976491c487ccd1f468b4eedc874i.3ql/6cadebe4

A special thanks to Barry Eigen for spotting this one, and for his wise counsel about not posting a descriptive picture of this malaphor.

 

The ball’s on them

Posted: June 5, 2020 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Uttered by an engineer at a conference call.  This is a nice congruent conflation of ” the ball’s in your court” and “the onus is on them”, both meaning under one’s control or responsibility.  I suppose if the ball is not only in your court but actually ON you then you might have a heightened responsibility.  Malaphors are like that sometime; they improve our established idioms.  This one is similar to a previous post, “The ball’s in your hand now”.  https://malaphors.com/2018/07/04/the-balls-in-your-hand-now/

A big thanks to Mike Kovacs for hearing this one and sending it in.

The ball’s on you to discover more malaphors by getting my book, “He Smokes LIke a Fish and Other Malaphors”, available on Amazon.  Just click on the link here:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/0692652205.  Also stay tuned for my upcoming malaphor book dedicated to those mashups uttered by politicians and pundits over the past four years.  It is top of the notch!

I’m still getting the ropes

Posted: June 3, 2020 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A dentist said this one as he explained all the new things he has to do because of the virus.  This is a congruent conflation of “I’m still getting the hang of it” and “I’m still learning the ropes”, both meaning to learn how to do a particular job or task.  So, as we begin to reopen the country, make sure and get a few ropes.  A big thanks to Barry Eigen for hearing this one and sending it in.

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