He should have shown more fire and vinegar
Posted: January 14, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 93.7 the Fan, Andrew Fillipponi, expressions, fire and brimstone, humor, malaphor, malaphors, Mike Tomlin, piss and vinegar, wordplay, words Leave a commentAnother from sports talk radio. Andrew Fillipponi from 93.7 The Fan (a Pittsburgh sports talk radio show) was talking about Steelers coach Mike Tomlin’s lack of anger and passion at his press conference after the loss to the New Orleans Saints. It is a sweet mashup of “fire and brimstone” (intense speech filled with emotion and anger) and “piss and vinegar” (having an abundance or excessive amount of rowdiness or enthusiasm). Maybe the speaker didn’t want to say “piss” on the air, but he could then have substituted “spit” as “spit and vinegar” has the same meaning. The contributor of this nice malaphor wanted to remain anonymous so I respect his/her wishes.
Nothing to shake a home about
Posted: January 7, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, idioms, Joe Theismann, malaphor, malaphors, nothing to shake a stick at, nothing to write home about, Redskins, wordplay, words Leave a commentJoe Theismann, the ex-Redskins quarterback, was discussing the 2018 Redskins on a local D.C. sports talk radio show and in particular the average wide receiver corps. This is a mash up of “more (something) than you can shake a stick at” (a very large number) and “nothing to write home about” (not especially remarkable or noteworthy). This is an interesting one as the two idioms have almost opposite meanings – a perfect example of an incongruent conflation. Maybe Joe was thinking of an earthquake with homes shaking when he uttered this one. A big thanks to Joe Welch who heard this one and sent it in.
Trump is hunkering in
Posted: December 31, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: digging in, Elise Jordan, expressions, humor, hunkering down, language, malaphor, malaphors, MSNBC, Trump, wordplay, words Leave a commentThis was uttered by Elise Jordan on MSNBC, as she was describing Trump alone in the White House. It is a congruent conflation of “digging in” and “hunkering down”, both meaning to get started in working on something or alternatively to seek refuge in a particular place. A big thanks to Frank King for catching this one.
It stuck out like a sore eye
Posted: December 27, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, malaphors, sight for sore eyes, stuck out like a sore thumb, words Leave a commentDescribing a poor choice of paint color on a porch, the speaker uttered this one. It is a nice mashup of “stuck out like a sore thumb” (very conspicuous) and “sight for sore eyes” (overjoyed to see someone after a long absence). Perhaps the speaker was thinking about a thumb in the eye after viewing the paint job. In any event, a big thanks to Mal for sharing this one he remembered from years ago.
Sitting behind the driver’s seat
Posted: December 17, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: behind the wheel, expressions, humor, in the driver's seat, malaphor, malaphors, NPR, On Point, words Leave a commentThis one has to be read in context. On the December 10, 2018 “On Point” NPR podcast, a person was discussing self-driving cars. “I felt safer sitting in the back seat of that driver-less vehicle than I did sitting behind the driver’s seat of my own car’. https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510053/on-point
This is a mashup of “in the driver’s seat” and “behind the wheel”, both meaning to take charge. The speaker wasn’t thinking of either idiom, but was certainly confusing his words. If you are in the back seat of one car, how is that different than being behind the driver’s seat of the other car? A big thanks to Alan “Moose” Richardson for hearing this one.
Beat the iron while it’s hot
Posted: December 12, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: beat it to the punch, expressions, humor, malaphor, malaphors, strike while the iron is hot, The Ranking Academy, wordplay, words 2 CommentsThis beauty comes from a video tutorial on Getting Google Reviews. It is a nice mashup of “strike while the iron is hot” (to make most of an opportunity or favorable conditions while one has the chance to do so) and “beat (someone) to the punch” (to do something before someone else does). Both idioms involve doing something early. A big thanks to Frank King for seeing this one and passing it on. Shout out to The Ranking Academy for giving us this blooper. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCopSeO4OPWd5M9zzPhA6qpg
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