It’s cold out there. No two questions about it.
Posted: December 1, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, no question about it, no two ways about it, words Leave a commentThis is a nice congruent conflation of “no question” and “no two ways about it”, both meaning there is no doubt about something. My guess is that there probably wasn’t even one question about it. This perfectly crafted mash up was heard by Marcia Riefer Johnston. Thanks Marcia for passing this one on! By the way, for all you word freaks out there check out Marcia’s great books on writing, “Word Up!” and “You Can Say That Again”, both available on Amazon. Also check her website out – http://www.writing.rocks.
Speaking of books on Amazon, check out my malaphor book, “He Smokes Like a Fish and other Malaphors”, today! http://www.amazon.com/dp/0692652205 Makes a great stocking stuffer and a wonderful addition to any bathroom library.
There’s a lot of mending bridges going on
Posted: November 28, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: building bridges, expressions, humor, Jenna Johnson, language, malaphor, malaphors, mending fences, MSNBC, With All Due Respect, words Leave a comment
We are trying to problem shoot this
Posted: November 26, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, problem solve, troubleshoot, words Leave a commentThis is a nice mash up of “problem-solve” and “troubleshoot”, both meaning to locate the cause of a problem and treat it. As the contributor, John Polk said, it’s “better to shoot the problem than the messenger”. You can follow John on Twitter @ClichesGoneWild.
Cameras blazing
Posted: November 23, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: cameras rolling, Donald Trump, expressions, Hamilton, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, with guns blazing, words Leave a commentThis one was tweeted last week by President-elect Donald Trump in one of his many tweets: “Our wonderful future V.P. Mike Pence was harassed last night at the theater by the cast of Hamilton, cameras blazing. This should not happen!” https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/799972624713420804
It is a mash up of “with (your) guns blazing” (doing something with a lot of force or energy) and “keep the cameras rolling” (staying on the record after intending to end a discussion or video). However, perhaps Mr. Trump really intended to use the mixed idiom to convey many cameras having great force or effect. Or, perhaps he was emphasizing that a trip to the theater should not be in the press? Maybe many phones lighting up at once creating a fiery effect? What do you think? Not sure what he really meant, but I do know he formed a very nice malaphor for this website! A big thanks to Yvonne Stam, frequent malaphor contributor for spotting this one and sending it in!
Enjoyed this malaphor? Check out my book “He Smokes Like a Fish and other Malaphors” available on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/dp/0692652205. Lots of mixed idioms in the political world, and a few from Mr. Trump as well!
She’s trying to walk this needle
Posted: November 21, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Boston Globe, Chris Matthews, congruent conflation, expressions, humor, Kelly Ayotte, language, malaphor, malaphors, thread the needle, toe the line, walk a fine line, words Leave a commentThe election is over, but the malaphors continue to flood in. This one was heard on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews. Discussing Kelly Ayotte’s (R-NH) response to the question of Donald Trump being a role model, James Pindell of the Boston Globe uttered this gem. It is a congruent conflation of “walk a thin (fine) line” and “thread the needle”, both meaning to skillfully navigate through a tough dilemma. “Toe the line” might also be in the mix, with the speaker thinking toes do the walking. A big thanks to Sally Adler for hearing this one and sending it in!
The coach makes no qualms about it
Posted: November 18, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, no bones about it, qualms about, words Leave a commentThis subtle malaphor was uttered by a CBS reporter covering an El Paso high school basketball team. The reporter said “the coach makes no qualms about it, he has a favorite on this team.” This is a mash up of “no qualms” (no question about the rightness of an action) and “make no bones about it” (to state clearly what you think or feel about something). Frank King strikes again, sending this one in!
This is up my wheelhouse
Posted: November 16, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, in my wheelhouse, language, malaphor, malaphors, The Real Housewives of Orange County, up my alley, Vicki Gunvalson, words 3 CommentsHere’s the link to the story where this appeared:
http://pagesix.com/2016/09/28/rhoc-star-whose-boyfriend-allegedly-faked-cancer-launches-charity/
This is a congruent conflation of “up my alley” and “in my wheelhouse”, both phrases meaning something matching one’s interests or abilities in someone’s comfort zone. Location seems to be the culprit here, with “up” and “in” getting confused. A big, big, thanks to the Duke of Malaphors, Mike Kovacs, for seeing this one and passing it on.
He’s chasing windmills
Posted: November 14, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Chris Matthews, Don Quixote, Erin Gloria Ryan, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, tilting at windmills, wild goose chase, words 2 Comments
My perception has changed 180 degrees on a dime
Posted: November 12, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: do a 180, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, turn on a dime, word, words Leave a commentNow that’s a change! This was spoken on a television commercial for dog food. A man is looking at ingredients on a can and realizes that it is the dog food he buys and contains a lot of unhealthy ingredients. He thought it was a good product until he saw the ingredients. He then says that he will buy the dog food being touted. He says “My perception has changed 180 degrees on a dime.” This is a conflation of “turning on a dime” (change directions very quickly) and “do a 180 degree turn” (to change opinion radically). The word “change” might have prompted the speaker to think about money and so “dime” might have spit out in addition to the 180 degrees. A big thanks to Diane Bufter for hearing this one and sending it in. As she said in her post to me, “I give him extra points for not making the common mistake of saying “360 degrees” which gets you right back where you started. Very true, Diane. I hear that all the time (including from my lips!).
North Carolina is a dead tie
Posted: November 11, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: dead heat, expressions, humor, Jerry Garcia, language, malaphor, malaphors, Rachel Maddow, virtual tie, words Leave a commentThis congruent conflation was uttered by Rachel Maddow on election eve. It is a mash up of “dead heat” and virtual tie”, both meaning a competition which is tied. I can’t help think that the speaker also had “tie-dyed” on her mind, a sort of dyslexia in malaphor form. And finally what about those Jerry Garcia ties? A big thanks to Frank King who heard this gem and passed it on.
Did you like this one? Check out my book, “He Smokes Like a Fish and other Malaphors”, available on Amazon right now! http://www.amazon.com/dp/0692652205
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