Coaches shouldn’t browbeat players over the head
Posted: April 15, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: beat someone over the head, browbeat, expressions, humor, malaphor, Tom Izzo, words Leave a commentThis was uttered on a sports radio show (of course). The speaker was talking about Tom Izzo and his rant at his players during the NCAA tournament. It is a nice mashup of “browbeat (someone) into (something)” (bully or initmidate) and “beat (someone) over the head (with a fact or opinion)” (emphasize or repeat something strongly). The word “browbeat” originally (1580s?) meant “to bear down with stern or arrogant looks,” and later became a term used for “bullying”. A big thanks to John Kooser for hearing this one.
He’s got nothing to hang his head on
Posted: April 11, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, hang your hat on, hang your head, humor, Kyle Guy, language, malaphor, malaphors, words Leave a commentUniversity of Virginia basketball guard Kyle Guy was remarking on the 42 point performance of Carsen Edwards of Purdue, even though Purdue lost. This is a brilliant mashup of “hang (one’s) head” (express shame or contrition) and “hang (one’s) hat on (something)” (depend or rely on something). “Hang” is in both expressions and “head” and “hat” are similar sounding and visually close. A big thanks to Tom Justice for hearing this one. Wahoowa!
There are people waiting around the wings
Posted: April 6, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: around the corner, Heather McGee, humor, language, malaphor, MSNBC, Trump, waiting in the wings Leave a commentThis one was uttered by Heather McGee on MSNBC’s “Deadline: White House with Nicolle Wallace. She was referring to people wanting to challenge Donald Trump in 2020. It is a mashup of “waiting in the wings” (stand ready to do something at the appropriate time) and I think “just around the corner” (very soon, imminent). As followers of this website know, MSNBC is known as The Malaphor Channel. Malaphors tend to be spoken when someone is filling up airspace, such as political pundits, sports radio shows, and athletes being interviewed. A big thanks to Guy Moody for spotting this subtle one.
The swallows are coming home to roost
Posted: March 29, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: chickens come home to roost, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, the swallows come home to Capistrano, words Leave a commentThe speaker was talking about a group of people getting what they deserved based on their actions. It is a conflation of “chickens coming home to roost” (facing the consequences of your actions) and the song “When the swallows come back to Capistrano”. This one reminds me of one of my favorite malaphors that I previously posted and which appears in my book, “He Smokes Like a Fish and other Malaphors”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0692652205
Alabama State Representative John Rogers, in response to questions about his protests outside a hospital that is about to be closed, said “We’ll be here until the cows come home from Capistrano”. Here’s the link: http://blog.al.com/archiblog/2012/11/why_not_give_rep_john_rogers_w.html
Those swallows (or cows or chickens) from Capistrano sure get around. A big thanks to John Kooser for hearing this one.
It sticks under my skin
Posted: March 27, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: gets under my skin, humor, language, malaphor, Morning Joe, MSNBC, Noah Rothman, sticks in my craw, Trump Leave a commentNoah Rothman uttered this nice malaphor on the MSNBC show, “Morning Joe”, on March 21. He was referring to Trump’s comments about McCain and Obamacare. It is a congruent conflation (two idioms mixed with the same meaning) of “sticks in (one’s) craw” and “gets under (someone’s) skin”, both referring to something that is irritating or bothersome to someone.
So what’s a craw?
A craw is the crop of a bird or insect, the transferred sense of the word to refer to a person’s gullet (Free Dictionary). Perhaps Mr. Rothman is a Frank Sinatra fan, thinking of the song “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”. A big thanks to Frank King for hearing this one!
Two things caught my eyebrow this week
Posted: March 25, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: caught my eye, expressions, humor, malaphor, raised some eyebrows, words Leave a commentThis was spotted on a facebook post. Sounds painful. It’s a nice mashup of “caught (one’s) eye (attention)” (attract one’s attention) and “raised a few eyebrows” (to elicit shock or surprise through unconventional actions or words). Both idioms involve the eye, and both involve getting one’s attention. I’m surprised that, considering the times we live in, there were only two things… A big thanks to Yvonne Stam for noticing this one and sending it in.
Kicking up the daisies
Posted: March 23, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, Kicking Daisies, kicking the bucket, malaphor, pushing up daisies, words Leave a commentThis was noticed on a tweet concerning people who don’t donate their organs when they die. Here is the tweet:
https://twitter.com/annamaclurex/status/1106972374631628800
It is a wonderful congruent conflation of “pushing up daisies” and “kick the bucket”, both phrases meaning to be dead. The writer may have had the band “Kicking Daisies” in her mind when she wrote the mashup. A big thanks to bittenbyfrost for noticing this one and sending it in.
Hang your heads high
Posted: March 22, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, hang your head, hold your head up high, humor, language, malaphor, Old Dominion, words Leave a commentThis one jumped to the front of the queue, as it is very timely. The speaker was discussing a recent NCAA mens’ basketball tournament game, and uttered this beauty about the Old Dominion University’s basketball game where they lost to Purdue in the first round. The speaker tweeted:
Hang your heads high @ODUMensHoops. You all made us proud this season. #MonarchMadness. https://twitter.com/Brackintology/status/1108947588697317377
This is a nice incongruent conflation of “hang (one’s) head” (express shame or contrition) and “hold (one’s) head (up) high” (to display confidence and pride). Perhaps the team is proud and ashame at the same time? The mixup originates with the two similar sounding words, “hang” and “hold”. A big thanks to Tom Justice who saw this one and sent it here to Malaphor Central.
He’s crazy as a bat
Posted: March 21, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: batshit crazy, crazy as a loon, crazy like a fox, expressions, malaphor, malaphors, Trump, words Leave a commentYou can guess who the speaker was referring to. This is a nice congruent conflation of “crazy as a bedbug (or loon)” and “batshit crazy”, both describing someone who is insane. “Bats in the belfry” also come to mind, although that is an old-fashioned phrase. “Crazy like a fox” (clever) might have been in the mix, but I doubt it based on the person the speaker was referring to. Hint: he denigrates war heroes, and even when they’re dead.
He’s like a kid in a china shop
Posted: March 18, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bull in a china shop, expressions, humor, kid in a candy shop, language, malaphor, malaphors, words 2 CommentsI heard this one from a neighbor. She was talking about her husband’s love of gadgets, and that he recently received a new tool that he was crazy about. This is an incongruent conflation of “like a kid in a candy shop” (so excited about something that they behave in a child-like way) and “like a bull in a china shop” (clumsily destructive). The mixup derives from the similar sounding words “china” and “candy”, the word “shop” used in both phrases, and that the two phrases are equal in words and structure (“like a blank in a blank shop”).
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