Everything’s peachy-dory

Posted: January 16, 2019 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

While I have posted this one before (https://malaphors.com/2014/03/16/thats-just-peachy-dory/), it bears repeating as President Trump said it a few days ago.  Let’s go to the transcript:

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, the news incorrectly reported.  Because I said, well, if we go back and everything is peachy- dory, and you say, “We’ll talk over 30 days,” at the end of 30 days, are you going to give us great border security, which includes a wall or a steel barrier.

This is a mash up of the expressions peachy keen and hunky-dory, both meaning fine or satisfactory.  This seems to be a fairly common malaphor, based on internet hits.  Now hunky keen is a different matter….Several of you caught this one, including Steve Grieme and Mike Kovacs, both expert malaphor hunters.

He should have shown more fire and vinegar

Posted: January 14, 2019 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Another 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 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Joe 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 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This 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 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Describing 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 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This 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 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

This 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

 

He’s a wild cannon

Posted: December 10, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments
This was heard in a court proceeding.  It is a congruent conflation of “wild card” and “loose cannon”, both describing someone or something as unpredictable.  A big thanks to Sam Edelmann who heard this one and passed it on.

We will be able to put all the dots in a row

Posted: December 6, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Jackie Speier (D-CA) uttered this nice malaphor on the All In with Chris Hayes show on MSNBC (11/28/18).  Here is the context:  “and I have no doubt in my mind that we will at some point, when the Mueller investigation is over, be able to put all the dots in a row and draw a line through them.”  This is a congruent conflation of “get your ducks in a row” (organize your affairs) and “connect the dots” (to understand something by piecing together bits of information).  “Dots” and “ducks” sound alike and the idea of connecting dots is similar to a row.  A big thanks to Mike Kovacs for hearing this one.

Don’t chew with your mouth full

Posted: December 3, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Did your mother ever tell you this?  Well, the submitter’s mom did, and it is a nice conflation of the admonitions  “don’t chew with your mouth open” and “don’t talk with your mouth full”.  The corollary of course is “don’t talk with your mouth open”, advice many should follow.  A big thanks to Timothy Kendall for sharing this one.

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