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.
Trump’s window… is sinking
Posted: June 5, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Donald Trump, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, PowerPost, sinking ship, Washington Post, window of opportunity, words 1 CommentThis nice malaphor was spotted in the PowerPost section of the Washington Post:
“THE HONEYMOON IS OVER:
“– Trump’s window to score early legislative victories is sinking as Congress’s summer recess nears — giving the president just two months to revive his health-care and tax efforts before lawmakers depart Capitol Hill for a long break.”
Here’s the source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/daily-202/2017/05/31/daily-202-the-gop-s-invisible-agenda/592d9df4e9b69b2fb981dbf8/?utm_term=.e07bf7d92b04
It is a mashup of “a window of opportunity is closing” (a brief time period in which an opportunity exists) and “ship is sinking (or sinking ship)” (a failed or floundering organization or entity). Sinking windows is never a good thing. A big thank you to Barry Eigen for seeing this one and sending it in!
He (Obama) starts signing them (Executive Orders) like they’re butter
Posted: June 2, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: cuts through like a hot knife through butter, Donald Trump, Executive Orders, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, selling like hotcakes, Seth Meyers, words Leave a commentThis beauty was uttered by Donald Trump in April 2016 when he was on the campaign trail. He was talking about Executive Orders, and how he was not going to use that vehicle to get things done, unlike then President Obama:
“Executive orders sort of came about more recently. Nobody ever heard of an executive order, then all of a sudden Obama — because he couldn’t get anybody to agree with him — he starts signing them like they’re butter, so I want to do away with executive orders for the most part.” http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/331134-trump-using-executive-orders-at-unprecedented-pace
Of course we all know now Trump used the Executive Order process at an unprecedented pace in his first 90 days. This is a mashup of “to go/cut through something like a (hot) knife through butter” (to do or cut something very easily) and “selling like hotcakes” (to sell quickly and in large numbers). While “sell” and “hotcakes” are not in the malaphor, I believe he was thinking of this idiom when he uttered the mix up, confusing “selling” for “signing”. Kudos to Karl Robins for spotting this one as he saw it on Seth Meyers’ 4/26/17 monologue.
It popped eyebrows
Posted: June 1, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Chris Cuomo, cnn, expressions, eye-popping, Grouch Marx, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, raised eyebrows, Trump, words 1 CommentChris Cuomo on CNN made this comment regarding a controversial statement. It is a nice mash up of “raised eyebrows” (something causing concern or surprise) and “eye-popping” (something astonishing). Perhaps Groucho Marx was on the speaker’s mind at the time. A tip of the hat to Ron MacDonald for hearing this one and sending it along.
No one believes it to be true from any stretch of fact
Posted: May 30, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: by no stretch of the imagination, expressions, humor, in fact, Kevin McCarthy, language, malaphor, malaphors, Trump, words Leave a comment
They’re walking on tenterhooks
Posted: May 27, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, on tenterhooks, Rush Limbaugh, walking on eggshells, words 2 CommentsThis one is from Rush Limbaugh’s lips. He was referring to the precarious position of the Republicans who can’t seem to get anything accomplished. This is a mash up of the idioms “on tenterhooks” (in a state of painful suspense) and “walking on eggshells” (to try very hard not to upset someone or something). Incidentally, the expression “on tenterhooks” refers to hooks that formerly were used to hold newly woven cloth that was being stretched on a frame. Their name has long survived this mid 1700s method of manufacture. A big thanks to Jack Chandler for hearing this one and passing it along!
Did you know Rush Limbaugh is the source for more than a few malaphors? Check them out in my book “He Smokes Like a Fish and other Malaphors”, available on Amazon for a cheap $6.99! That’s less than 7 dollars!
Spiraling downhill
Posted: May 25, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: downward spiral, expressions, going downhill, Greta Van Susteren, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, MSNBC, words Leave a commentIs there such a thing as a dyslexic malaphor? “Spiraling downhill” might be one. It was said on MSNBC’s Greta Van Susteren’s show, referring to Trump’s leaking of classified information to the Russians in the Oval Office. I believe it is a mashup of “spiraling down” and “going downhill”, both meaning something going out of control and getting worse. There is also “downward spiral”, also meaning a situation getting worse. If I keep thinking about this one, I will be spiraling downhill so my analysis now ends. A tip of the hat to Mike Kovacs for hearing this one!
Who is the person who can get this ship back on track?
Posted: May 22, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: back on track, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, Mika Brzezinski, Morning Joe, right the ship, words Leave a commentThis one was uttered by Mika Brzezinski on the MSNBC talk show, “Morning Joe”. She was talking about the Trump Presidency. It is a nice congruent conflation of “right the ship” and “get back on track”, both meaning to get something back on schedule or to return to normal. A big thanks to Susan Kestner for hearing this one and sending it on!
Malaphors 
Recent Comments