You’re a one-horse pony
Posted: December 23, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: humor, idioms, Joe Biden, language, malaphors, one-horse town, one-trick pony, Peter Doocy 2 CommentsFox News’ Peter Doocy asked President-elect a question : “Mr. President-elect, do you still think that stories about your son Hunter were Russian disinformation?” Biden responded, “Yes, yes and yes. God love you, man. You’re a one-horse pony, I tell ya.” Here’s the exchange:
This is a great mashup of “one-trick pony” (someone who is limited to one talent or repeats the same thing) and “one-horse town” (small, unimportant place). Both have the word “one” in them and of course are tied with the equestrian theme. Since this was uttered just a few days before Christmas, the song “Jingle Bells” and “a one-horse open sleigh” might have been on the President-elect’s mind. A tip of the Santa toque to Bruce Ryan who spotted this one first. Others who sent this one in include Ron MacDonald, nutshell_blogger, Robert McLaughlin (via Steve Grieme) and Fred Martin. They are all certainly not one-horse ponies!
They turned up the notch
Posted: December 21, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: humor, idioms, language, malaphors, Stephen Bardo Leave a commentStephen Bardo, former NBA star and now basketball analyst for Fox Sports One, was commenting at the end of the Indiana/Butler basketball game how Indiana came back strong in the second half. This is a mashup of “turn up the heat” and “take it up a notch”, both meaning to do something with more determination or intensity. This is a classic congruent conflation, mixing two similar meaning idioms together. They tend to be subtle and therefore a little more difficult to spot. Kudos to Bruce Ryan for hearing this one and calling it in.
I’m in hog city
Posted: December 14, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: fat city, hog heaven, humor, idioms, language, malaphors Leave a commentThe speaker was enjoying himself, and unintentionally uttered this perfectly formed congruent conflation of “in hog heaven” and “fat city”, both meaning pleasant situations (the latter usually referring to a state of wealth). “Living high off the hog” (to prosper or live very well) could also be in the mix, as it has the same meaning as “fat city”. A big thanks to Bill Belanger for blurting out this one and sending it in! Oink oink.
I have been beating the horn
Posted: December 10, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: beating the bushes for, humor, Jeremy Harris, malaphors, Seth Myers, words Leave a commentJeremy Harris, actor and playwright, was on Late Night with Seth Myers. He was talking about the federal theater project and how enthusiastic he was about it. This is a conflation of “beating the drum for” (promoting someone or something) and “blowing/tooting (one’s) own horn” (boast or brag about one’s abilities). “Beating the bushes” (trying very hard to achieve something) might be in play here as well given the context. And no, the subject was not masturbation. A big thanks to Sam Edelmann who heard this one and sent it in!
They are not going to let this ship go down in flames
Posted: November 28, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: go down with the ship, humor, idioms, Kasie Hunt, language, malaphors Leave a commentKasie Hunt on MSNBC’s Morning Joe was musing about Republican senators not wanting the party to go down with Trump. I believe this is a conflation of “go down with the ship” (to fall or be punished because of one’s involvement with some larger group or enterprise) and “go down in flames” (fail spectacularly). “Shot down in flames” (judged harshly and rejected) might also be in the mix given the context. “Go down” is in both phrases, so is probably the cause of the mixup. A big thanks to Bruce Ryan for hearing this one and sending it in!
She flipped her tune
Posted: November 12, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: changed her tune, flipped, humor, idioms, language, malaphors 2 CommentsThis is another from Naomi David. She was talking about someone changing her opinion. This is a congruent conflation of “change (one’s) tune” and “flipped”, both meaning to change or reverse course, or change sides in a controversy. “Flipped the script” (make a total reversal or radical change) might also have been on the speaker’s mind (a shout out to Verbatim for noting this). In this current political climate, she may have been thinking of states “flipping” from red to blue or vice versa. A big thanks to Naomi and to Katie Norwood for hearing this one and passing it on.
Sounds like you’re juggling a lot of hats
Posted: November 3, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, malaphors, words Leave a commentIf you follow this website, you will know the name of Naomi David, dubbed “The Queen of Malaphors”. Oops, she did it again and uttered this gem, which is a congruent conflation of “wearing many hats” and “juggling/keeping balls in the air”, both meaning to hold many responsibilities at the same time. Since she was talking to Katie Hatfield Norwood, “hats” might have been on her mind.
Did you know hat spinning is a thing? In the final years of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century, hat spinning was a fairly standard and common form of juggling. Today this art form is performed by perhaps as few as two or three jugglers in the entire world. For those who have never seen it, hat spinning can perhaps be best described as a cross between plate spinning and devil stick, with a flimsy, broad-brimmed hat being manipulated by one or two long sticks held in the juggler’s hands. https://www.juggle.org/hat-spinning-history-instruction-and-performers/#:~:text=One%20of%20the%20best%20known,art%20form%20was%20Walter%20Bellonini.&text=Other%20early%20jugglers%20who%20performed,least%20as%20early%20as%201875.
A big thanks to Naomi David and Katie Norwood for this one.
She shouldn’t sleep where she eats
Posted: October 28, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: don't shit where you eat, expressions, humor, idioms, malaphors, sleep around, words Leave a commentThere was a conversation about a person who got intimate with someone related to her boss. This is a nice conflation of “sleep around” (to engage in sex with many different partners) and “don’t shit where you eat” (do not engage in troublesome or dubious behavior at home or at work). A big thanks to Doree Simon for spotting this one and sending it in!
Fun fact: Eating while asleep is a disorder. It’s called sleep-related eating disorder (SRED) and is a type of parasomnia (sleep disorder) characterized by abnormal eating patterns during the night. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/12123-sleep-related-eating-disorders#:~:text=People%20with%20sleep%2Drelated%20eating,the%20night%20with%20full%20awareness.
He’s the guy that cracks the numbers
Posted: September 25, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Bill Maher, crack the code, crunch the numbers, humor, language, malaphors, Nate Silver, words Leave a commentBill Maher said this one on his show last week, referring to Nate Silver’s analysis of the election and why people should listen to him. It is a mashup of “crunch the numbers” (performs numerous calculations) and “crack the code” (solve a difficult problem or mystery). “Crunching” and “cracking” are both similar sounding words (lots of onomatopoeia going on here), contributing to the merry mixup. A code usually involves numbers, so that might have been swirling in the speaker’s brain at the time. Another tip of the crack to Mike Kovacs who heard this one.
You have to run the whole board
Posted: August 31, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: across the board, expressions, humor, malaphors, run the table, Trump, words Leave a commentIt’s hard for Republicans. You have to run the whole board, because they started off that we’re going to play for New York. With all of the crime in New York, I got to play for New York, because we did well in New York. We did well in New York, but we’re going to play for New York.
Malaphors 
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