That really took the starch out of my sails
Posted: February 25, 2014 Filed under: sails, starch, THINGS | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, humor, knocked the starch out of me, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, take the wind out of my sails, words Leave a commentThis is a conflation of several phrases. The speaker was talking about his near death experience while cycling, so “it knocked the starch out of me” (to be beat up severely) may be in the mix, but I think the better phrase is “it took the starch out of me” (it made me tired or weak) as he was scared. The other phrase is probably “it knocked the wind out of my sails” (heavy blow to the body) rather than “taking the wind out of my sails” (challenging someone’s boasting or arrogance). A big shout out to Tom Justice for sending this one in!
Put the metal on the gas
Posted: February 22, 2014 Filed under: pedal | Tags: blended idioms, congruent conflation, expressions, gas, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, pedal, pedal to the metal, step on the gas, words 2 CommentsThis is a congruent conflation of “put the pedal to the metal” and “step on the gas”, both meaning to speed up. I heard this one on a tv sports show uttered by Wally Szczerbiak. He was discussing at halftime that the team behind needed to step it up.
That will bring some skeletons crawling out of the woodwork
Posted: February 17, 2014 Filed under: closet, crawl, woodwork | Tags: blended idioms, closet, crawling out of the woodwork, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, skeletons, skeletons in the closet, woodwork, words 1 CommentThis is a delightful mixture of “skeletons in the closet” (secrets) and “crawling out of the woodwork” (secrets coming out in the open). The confusion lies in the two phrases referring to secrets and exposing them. I heard this in a conversation but I cannot reveal the source as I was sworn to secrecy. We can’t have these malaphors crawling out of the woodwork, can we?
We have so many hurdles to cross
Posted: February 15, 2014 Filed under: hoops, hurdles, PLACES, river, THINGS | Tags: blended idioms, clear hurdles, crossing the rubicon, expressions, humor, Jimmy Cliff, jump through hoops, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, rivers to cross, words Leave a commentThis is a mash up of “clear a hurdle” (overcome an obstacle) and I think “rivers to cross” , borrowed from the great Jimmy Cliff song “Many Rivers to Cross”, based on the context of the malaphor. “Crossed the Rubicon” (taken action with no return) also comes to mind. “Jumping through hoops” (to do extra things to get what you want) might also be in the mix, confusing hoops and hurdles. Thanks to Sam Edelmann for spotting this one!
They were going butt-to-butt
Posted: January 29, 2014 Filed under: BODY PARTS, butt, head | Tags: butt, butting heads, congruent conflation, expressions, head, head butting, head-to-head, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, words Leave a commentIn describing an angry argument, the speaker uttered this malaphor, a mash up of the phrases “head-to-head” and “butting heads”, both describing a confrontation or argument. Head butting also comes to mind, among other images… I will not display a picture for this malaphor. Many thanks to Naomi David for giving me this gem!
This is a perfect example of the frying pan calling the kettle black
Posted: January 26, 2014 Filed under: black, COLORS, fire, kettle, THINGS | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, out of the frying pan into the fire, pot calling the kettle black, words 4 CommentsI am not making these up. This one was from a commenter (UltraLiberal) in response to a New York Times Op-ed by Gail Collins entitled “The Luck of the Pontiff” – http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/23/opinion/collins-the-luck-of-the-pontiff.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0 The commenter posted:
ULtraliberal
“Anti-Catholicism, with over one Billion Catholics in the world,I don’t think. Catholics have to worry about extinction,This is a perfect example of the frying pan calling the kettle black.”
That’s a whole different ball of fish
Posted: January 24, 2014 Filed under: ANIMALS, ball, fish, kettle, THINGS | Tags: ball, congruent conflation, different ball of wax, different kettle of fish, expressions, fish, humor, kettle, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, wax, words Leave a commentThis is a mix of two phrases with the same meaning – “different ball of wax” and “different kettle of fish” (completely different or not at all similar). Fish ball soup might also be in the unconscious here (see picture). This type of malaphor involving phrases with the same or similar meanings is also referred to as a congruent conflation and is usually the most commonly uttered malaphor (and usually the best). Loyal follower David Spain unintentionally blurted this one out and referred it here. Thanks David!
He was dressed to the tee (or t)
Posted: January 21, 2014 Filed under: dress, tee shirt | Tags: dressed to the nines, dressed to the teeth, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, to a t, to a tee, words 3 CommentsThis is a mash up of two phrases describing perfection – “dressed to the teeth” (dressed very stylishly with nothing overlooked) and “to a tee (or t)” (perfectly). “Dressed to the nines” (same definition as dressed to the teeth) also might be in the mix, but my guess is that the speaker was thinking teeth as tee and teeth are similar in sound. Of course, it is possible that the person spoken about was dressed in a very stylish, perfect looking tee shirt, but doubtful. Many thanks to Sam Edelmann for hearing this one and passing it on.
Wake up and smell the roses
Posted: January 16, 2014 Filed under: coffee, FOOD, roses, THINGS | Tags: blended idioms, Coffee, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, roses, stop and smell the roses, wake up and smell the coffee, words 1 CommentThis common malaphor (many hits on the internet) is a mixture of “wake up and smell the coffee” (try to pay attention to what is going on), “come up smelling like a rose” (succeeding from a bad situation) and “stop and smell the roses” (enjoy what’s around you). The latter was a title to a 1974 hit song by Mac Davis. This malaphor is similar to “please stop and smell the daisies” published on August 30, 2013. Many thanks to Sam Edelmann for unintentionally uttering this one and passing it along!
We barely scratched the tip of the iceberg
Posted: January 19, 2013 Filed under: ACTION, iceberg, scratch, THINGS | Tags: blended idiom, expression, humor, iceberg, language, malaphor, mixed idiom, scratched the surface, tip of the iceberg, words Leave a commentThis congruent malaphor is a mix of “barely scratching the surface” and “tip of the iceberg”, both referring to the beginning of a much larger issue or problem. Here is an example
in context:
In closing, the recession is hard but that is not to say that survival is impossible, but you will have to be more creative with your money especially if you are a family at a budget. Of course, these tips only scratched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to financial planning and frugality. If you’ve already done these tips and are finding you need additional help, then never underestimate the power of a reasonable and well-thought-out budget. (from the article, Top 5 Ways for families to survive the Recession – http://voices.yahoo.com/top-5-ways-families-survive-recession-8644177.html?cat=25).
English: Iceberg around Cape York, Greenland (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
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