The man is a nut cake
Posted: August 10, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Chris Hayes, Donald Trump, expressions, Gordon Humphrey, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, MSNBC, nutcase, nutty as a fruitcake, words Leave a commentOn MSNBC’s “All In with Chris Hayes” show last night, former New Hampshire Senator Gordon Humphrey (R-NH) said Trump is a “nut cake”. This is a congruent conflation of “nutcase” and “nutty as a fruitcake”, both obviously meaning to be crazy or insane. Here is an excerpt from the transcript, courtesy of Breitbart News (trying to stay apolitical here):
In the common parlance, the man is a nut cake, he is a looney bird. And it would be the height of irresponsibility to elevate him to the presidency. It would be recklessness to make him commander in chief. I’ve issued a call to members of the RNC this afternoon to demand an emergency meeting of the Republican National Committee to strip Donald Trump of the nomination and to replace him with someone of sound mind.
http://www.breitbart.com/video/2016/08/09/fmr-nh-senator-trump/
As followers know, malaphors are spoken by all, including Republicans and Democrats. Who can forget Obama’s excellent “my opponent would like you to think I am green behind the ears when it comes to foreign policy”, or Hillary Clinton’s recent “the creme de la resistance”? A big thanks to Sam Edelmann who heard this one and passed it on to Malaphor Central.
If he doesn’t pass the mustard, then we aren’t promoting him
Posted: August 8, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: congruent conflation, cut the mustard, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, malaprop, pass muster, words Leave a commentSharing must be a really big deal at this company. I understand not passing ketchup is grounds for dismissal. Actually, this gem was uttered when discussing an internal candidate who applied for a promotion: “We can interview him, but if he doesn’t pass the mustard, then we aren’t promoting him.” This is a congruent conflation of “cut the mustard” and “pass muster”, both meaning to perform satisfactorily. At first this just appeared to be a malaprop (misusing a word, generally similar in sound) – mustard for muster – but on closer inspection it indeed is a mash up of two idioms, hence a very nice malaphor. A big thanks to Tiffany G. for hearing this one and passing it (and the condiment) on!
Did you like this one? I sure did, and you can find a ton of other fun malaphors just like this one in my latest book, He Smokes Like a Fish and other Malaphors, available on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/dp/0692652205!
We’re busted at the gills
Posted: August 5, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: burst, bursting at the seams, bust, congruent conflation, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, packed to the gills, property brothers, words 2 CommentsThis gem was heard on episode 600 of Property Brothers. One of the clients, describing the tight quarters, said that when they have friends over “we’re busted at the gills”. This is a congruent conflation of “packed (or full) to the gills” and “bursting at the seams”, both meaning to be extremely full or crowded with no room to spare. “Busted” is commonly misused for the word “bursted”, as in the song from Carousel, “June is busting out all over” (June wasn’t the name of the heroine, right?). A big thanks to the eagle eared prolific malaphor contributor Yvonne Stam for hearing this one and sending it in!
I’m treading in uncharted waters
Posted: August 3, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Aaron Sanchez, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, tread lightly, treading water, uncharted waters, wrods Leave a comment
Remember when he put his foot through his ass
Posted: July 29, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, put your foot in your mouth, talk through your ass, words Leave a commentThey were from opposite ends of the track
Posted: July 28, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: ESPN 30 for 30, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, opposite ends of the spectrum, Tony Grossi, words, wrong side of the tracks Leave a commentTony Grossi, Cleveland sportswriter, was discussing the differences between Cleveland Browns’ owner Art Modell and head coach Paul Brown in Believeland, an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary. It is a conflation of “opposite ends of the spectrum” (completely opposing views) and “wrong side of the tracks (poor area of town). This mix up stems largely I think from the speakers’s mind conjuring up a town with poor on one side and rich on the other, but wanting to convey differences of opinion and views. Track then substituted for spectrum. Kudos to Mike Kovacs, “The Malaphor Hunter”, for hearing this subtle mash up and sending it in!
This curve ball has a silver lining
Posted: July 22, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: every cloud has a silver lining, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, Royal Pains, throw him a curve, words Leave a commentOn the show “Royal Pains” (S8.E6 Home Sick), there is a discussion of being able to find good news coming out of bad. A woman says to Hank, the main character, “This curve ball has a silver lining.” This is a mash up of “every cloud has a silver lining” (it is possible for something good to come out of a bad situation) and “throw (someone) a curve” (to confuse someone by doing something unexpected or tricky). A big thanks to Isaac Joel for hearing this one and sending it in!
Speaking of silver linings, you need to get the new book on Malaphors if you have not already done so. It’s called He Smokes Like a Fish and other Malaphors and has a guaranteed laugh on every page! Get it now on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/dp/0692652205 or at Create Space at
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Radical Islam has to be stopped in its roots
Posted: July 20, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, pull out by the roots, root out, stopped in its tracks, words Leave a commentFrank King, frequent contributor and “the cardiac comedian” (http://thefunnyhealthcarespeaker.com/) , heard this one on the Rachel Maddow show. A former radical Islamist was the guest who uttered this malaphor a few times. I believe it is a mash up of “stopped in its tracks” (stop someone or something suddenly and completely) and “root out” or “pulled out by the roots” (completely eradicate). Both phrases mean to stop something completely so it is also a congruent conflation. A big thanks to Frank for hearing this one and sending it in!
They need to get their act in order
Posted: July 17, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: congruent conflation, expressions, get your act together, get your house in order, humor, language, malaphor, words Leave a commentYours truly blurted this one out to my wife who immediately said “malaphor” and wrote it down. It’s a congruent conflation of “get your act together” and “put your house in order”, both meaning to get organized. “Together” and “in order” have the same number of letters and sound similar, probably contributing to the mash up. This is a timely malaphor considering the upcoming general election.
I should thank my lucky chickens
Posted: July 15, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: chines zodiac, don't count your chickens before they hatch, earth chickens, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, thank my lucky stars, words Leave a commentThis one seems to be a mash up of “thank my lucky stars” (to be thankful for one’s luck) and “don’t count your chickens before they hatch” (don’t make plans based on future events that might not happen). My guess is that the speaker might have been thinking of her childhood, having Chicken with Stars soup on a cold winter day or in bed sick with a fever. Or perhaps she was thinking of the Chinese zodiac and the earth chicken (1909, 1969, 2029), which are lucky with money. On the other hand, perhaps she had a lucky chicken! In any event, when she said it she had to send it to me immediately as she knew it must have been a mixed up phrase. A big thanks to Jillian Strayhorn for uttering this one and sending it in!
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