We’re treading on dangerous waters here
Posted: September 2, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, on shaky ground, treading lightly, venturing into uncharted waters, words Leave a commentThis was said in a pretrial conference in response to an unusual procedural request from the opposition. It is a nice mash up of “on dangerous (shaky) ground” (a proposal on an unstable or questionable foundation), “treading lightly (or carefully)” (cautious), and “venturing in uncharted waters” (going into unfamiliar or unclear situations). The latter seems particularly in the speaker’s mind considering the context. This malaphor is very similar to a recent one I posted: “I’m treading in uncharted waters”. https://malaphors.com/2016/08/03/im-treading-in-uncharted-waters/
A tip of the gavel to Tom Justice who heard this one and passed it on!
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Students going there are going to have a huge foot up on everybody else
Posted: August 31, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, getting a leg up on someone, getting off on the right foot, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, putting your best foot forward, words 1 CommentDon’t get your panties in an uproar
Posted: August 29, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: don't get your bowels in an uproar, don't get your panties in a twist, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, Todd Christie, words 3 CommentsSage advice, and a nice mash up of “don’t get your bowels in an uproar” (don’t get excited) and “don’t get your panties (knickers) in a twist (bunch)” (don’t get upset over a trivial matter). Both idioms are very close in meaning, and both involve the lower extremity area (panties and bowels). They also both have the words “don’t get” and “in a”, adding to the confusion. This one is very close to a malaphor I posted in January 2015, “don’t get your panties in a ringer”, written by Todd Christie, brother of Chris Christie, in a Facebook comment, reacting to people commenting on the Governor celebrating the Dallas Cowboys playoff win with Jerry Jones in his box suite. See https://malaphors.com/2015/01/10/dont-get-your-panties-in-a-ringer/. And of course this one is similar to one of my all time favorites posted in 2012 – “don’t get your nose in an uproar”. https://malaphors.com/2012/08/31/dont-get-your-nose-in-an-uproar/
A big thanks to Donna Cosentino for writing this one on a Facebook comment and Rachel Schwemmer for spotting it!
Clinton is selling them down the tubes
Posted: August 28, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Anderson Cooper, Donald Trump, expressions, going down the tubes, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed metaphors, selling them down the river, words Leave a commentDuring an interview with Anderson Cooper this week, Donald Trump responded to a question from Anderson on why he called Hillary Clinton a bigot. Referring to African Americans, Trump said that Clinton is “selling them down the tubes.” This is a mash up of “selling them down the river” (harming or disappointing people who trusted you) and “going down the tubes” (to become much worse). “Down” is the culprit here, as it appears in both idioms. Also, I suspect the image of tubing down the river might have floated in Donald’s mind.
For the first time, I received a malaphor spotting from two people, both who are loyal malaphor watchers and followers, Mike Kovacs and Sally Adler. A yuuuge thanks to Mike and Sally for hearing this timely mixed idiom and sending it in!
If you liked this one from the political world, I have a whole chapter of malaphors uttered by politicians in my new book, “He Smokes Like a Fish and other Malaphors”, available on Amazon now!!
He threw caution out the window
Posted: August 26, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, out the window, throw caution to the wind, words 1 CommentWhen this gem was uttered by her husband, Susan Edwards, a loyal malaphor follower, immediately contacted Malaphor Central (me) to report it. This is a mash up of “throw caution to the wind” (to take a risk) and “out the window” (gone or wasted). The hiccup here is obviously the words “wind” and “window”. The prepositions “to” and “out”, both indicating movement, also were mixed up. Perhaps this could be a new cliche, meaning someone who is extremely reckless and/or daring? A big thanks to Bob Edwards for uttering this one and Susan Edwards for hearing it and passing it on!
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Look what the cat dragged out of the bag!
Posted: August 24, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: cat out of the bag, expressions, humor, language, look what the cat dragged in, malaphor, malaphors, words Leave a commentThe speaker and his co-workers were serving as greeters for a Christmas Eve service. A mutual friend was approaching from a distance and the speaker casually but jokingly yelled this malaphor out. It is a nice mash up of two idioms involving the word “cat” – “look at what the cat dragged in” (exclamation about a person who just arrived, presumably late) and “the cat is out of the bag” (the secret has been revealed). A big thanks to Joel who uttered this mixed metaphor and for sending it in! I expect to see more from him as he has a reputation for unintentional idiom blending!
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There is not enough respect shown to ordinary people busting their necks
Posted: August 22, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: breaking their necks, busting their butts, expressions, humor, Joe Biden, language, malaphor, malaphors, Morning Joe, MSNBC, Trump, words Leave a commentThis beauty was uttered by Vice President Joe Biden on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. He was talking about both parties and noting that they were not very good “at listening to the concerns of ordinary people busting their necks.” http://info.msnbc.com/_news/2016/07/27/35882707-morning-joe-news-joe-biden-says-the-democratic-party-overall-hasnt-spoken-enough-to-white-working-class-voters?lite
This is a nice congruent conflation of “busting their butts” and “breaking their necks”, both meaning to work very hard. The confusion not only stems from the similar meanings of both phrases but also the words “bust” and “break”. In addition, as noted here many times, body parts are often mixed up in the wonderful world of malaphors. A big thanks to Linda Bernstein for catching this in the NY Times and passing it on!
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Go over and beyond 4 this Lil dude
Posted: August 21, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: above and beyond, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, over the top, words Leave a commentThis nice malaphor was written by Washington Redskins wide receiver DeSean Jackson on his Facebook page, relating his affection for his son. It is a mash up of “above and beyond” and “over the top”, both meaning extreme or more than is required. Idioms with direction words are commonly mixed. Many thanks to Judy McLendon Knaub for spotting this one and passing it on!
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It’s like finding a diamond in a haystack
Posted: August 19, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: diamond in the rough, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, needle in a haystack, words Leave a commentThe speaker was describing something that was hard to find. This is a nice mash up of “diamond in the rough” (someone or something whose good qualities are hidden) and “needle in a haystack” (something extremely hard to find). Both idioms involve something hidden, which I imagine caused the mental hiccup. Also both phrases are the same symmetrically, i.e., four words and sharing the word “in”. In addition, needles and diamonds are both sharp objects , and haystacks tend to be unkempt and rough. Like a diamond, this malaphor just gets better on closer inspection.
Perhaps in Trinidad and Tobago this phrase is an accepted one, as President Anthony Carmona described the new chairman of the Salaries Review Commission (SRC), Kyle Rudden (picture below), as “a diamond in the haystack.” http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2015-10-28/diamond-haystack.
A big thanks to Gabe for hearing this one and sending it in!
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It went to pot in a handbag
Posted: August 17, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: books, going to pot, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, to hell in a handbag, to hell in a handbasket, words Leave a commentYvonne Stam, a frequent contributor to this site, heard this gem from her sister, who was referring to children reaching middle school age. It is a congruent conflation of “going to pot” and “going to hell in a handbasket”, both meaning declining or getting worse. As Yvonne says, the speaker was probably confusing the word “handbasket” (surely an antique word) with handbag. She also points out that “to hell in a handbag” is noted in Wikipedia as a common version. This malaphor is similar to one I posted in 2012, “the project is going to pot in a handbasket” (https://malaphors.com/2012/09/15/the-project-is-going-to-pot-in-a-handbasket/) which was uttered in the 70s. Perhaps handbaskets were more common then. Pot was, that’s for sure.
A big thanks to Yvonne Stam for hearing this one and sending it in!
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