My anxiety is out of the roof

Posted: August 24, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This was overheard in a disability hearing.  It is a nice mashup of “through the roof” (to rise to a very high level) and “out of this world” (extraordinary).  The word “roof” seems to be the cause of a lot of idiom jumbles.  Check out other “roof malaphors” in the search engine.  One I vividly recall is “the shit hit the roof”.  https://malaphors.com/2014/09/20/the-shit-hit-the-roof/.  A big thanks to Sam Edelmann for sharing this one.

If you liked this one, you’ll love my book on malaphors, “He Smokes Like a Fish and other Malaphors”, available on Amazon.  It’s out of the roof!

Facebook is the 10,000 pound canary in the coal mine

Posted: August 18, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tom Merritt of APR’s Marketplace on NPR Morning Edition, Daily Tech News uttered this one.  One of the criteria for a malaphor is that it is unintentionally said; a mental mishap so to speak.  However, I have made an exception with this one as it is very clever.  It appears Mr. Merritt was saying this intentionally, as he was talking about Facebook policing its advertising, and whether the latest transparency move was significant. They don’t want to talk about it; they’re being forced to talk about it. We don’t have a clear way of knowing whether our privacy is being protected..

It is a mashup of “canary in a coal mine” (early warning of possible adverse conditions or danger), “the 800 pound gorilla” (a person or group so powerful it does not need to heed to the rules) and “the elephant in the room” (a problem that everyone is aware but choose to ignore and not mention).  Elephants, gorillas, and canaries all in one phrase!  A huge thanks to Sally Adler for hearing this one and passing it on!

He’s running the shots

Posted: August 17, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This excellent malaphor was uttered by a CNN reporter on the program New Day on 8/9/18.  The reporter was referring to Mueller, and his ongoing negotiations with Trump’s legal team with respect to an interview with Trump.  It’s a congruent conflation of “running the show” and “calling the shots”, both referring to someone who is in control of the situation.  “Show” and “shot” are both four letter words that have similar sounds, and I suspect the reason for the mental mix up.  A big thank you to Mike Kovacs for hearing this one and sending it in.  

Today he evened out the scales

Posted: August 15, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This was uttered by Julia Ainsley on MSNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes show.  She was referring to Manafort’s lawyer cross-examining Rick Gates.  It is a mashup of three idioms:  “even out” (to make something more balanced), “even the score” (avenge a wrong), and “balance the scales” (to make even).  A big thanks to Frank King for hearing this one and sending it in.

The President calls the ball

Posted: August 13, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments
This delightful malaphor was uttered by Secretary of State Pompeo during a Senate hearing.  He was responding to a number of comments regarding the President’s rhetoric being inconsistent with what his subordinates are actually doing.  Here is the context:
“You basically have two different foreign policies in the United States, you have the foreign policy of the Trump administration and you have the foreign policy of President Trump himself,” historian Max Boot told CNN’s Brooke Baldwin on Thursday.
“What the President says and does is ultimately more important that what people underneath him are doing,” he continued. “They are not getting a unity of purpose and they are not getting a consistent message out because the President is completely at odds with his own government.”
Administration officials dismiss such commentary, either denying there is a gap between the President and his subordinates or insisting that he alone sets administration policy.
Pompeo faced repeated variations of this question during a fiery Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing last month.
“The President calls the ball. His statements are in fact policy,” Pompeo said. “This President runs this government. His statements are in fact US policy.”  https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/03/politics/russia-election-interference-white-house-response-trump/index.html
This is a congruent conflation of “calls the shots” and “has the ball”, both meaning to be in command to make decisions.  “Calls the play” might also be in the mix.  My guess is that the speaker was also thinking of the idiom “calls the strikes and balls”, again meaning to make the decisions (like an umpire in baseball).  A shout out to Vicki Ameel-Kovacs for hearing this one on MSNBC and sharing it.

Trump held Michael Cohen at arm’s distance

Posted: July 23, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This ditty was uttered on July 20 by Stephanie Ruhle on MSNBC’s “Velshi and Ruhle”.  It is a nice congruent conflation of “at arm’s length” and “keep at a distance”, both meaning to keep someone from becoming too close.  Perhaps a “distance” is farther than an “arm”?  I imagine that fits in this context.  A big thanks to Frank King, the Mental Health Comedian, for hearing this one and sending it in.

They really had to think on their toes

Posted: July 21, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | 4 Comments

This malaphor comes courtesy of a local Birmingham Alabama news story about firemen rescuing people caught in a flash flood.  A fireman said:  “ The firefighters really had to think on their toes due to the changing conditions. “  This is an excellent example of a congruent conflation, mixing “think on (one’s) feet” and “be on your toes”, both meaning to be alert and react quickly.  Obviously the mix here is “toes” and “feet”.  A big thanks to David Stephens who was on his toes for this one.

He’s turning over a new lease on life

Posted: July 20, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This perfectly formed malaphor is a mashup of “turning over a new leaf” (to change one’s behavior, usually in a positive way) and “a new lease on life” (a new chance for happiness, usually after a hardship).   “New” is common to both idioms, and the words “lease” and “leaf” are similar sounding.  Both I think contributed to the mental mix up.  A big thanks to Martin Pietrucha for sharing this one with the malaphor world.

If you liked this malaphor you’ll love my book on the subject, “He Smokes Like a Fish and other Malaphors”, available on Amazon for a cheap $6.99.  A must for every bathroom library.

He pulls those hat tricks out of the bag

Posted: July 10, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments
This awesome conflation was uttered by Lane Johnson, Philadelphia Eagles right tackle, talking about his quarterback Carson Wentz.  A lot is going on in this malaphor.  “A bag of tricks” (skills one is able to use) and “pull a trick (on someone)” (to carry out a trick) are both in the mix, as well as “pull a rabbit out of the hat” (to do something that is seemingly impossible), the latter which is probably what the speaker was looking for.  The beauty of this one is that he adds “hat trick” (same player scores three goals in a hockey game), applying a hockey term to football.  Here is the link to this mash up:
https://theeagleswire.usatoday.com/2018/06/25/eagles-qb-carson-wentz-ranked-no-3-on-nfl-networks-top-100/

A big thanks to Jim Kozlowski for spotting this one and sending it in.  A classic for sure.

They are not putting all their marbles in one basket

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

This one is from the ESPN show “Pardon the Interruption” (PTI).  There was a discussion about the Lakers and LeBron James’ free agency. Michael Wilbon reported that Magic Johnson [the Lakers’ director of basketball operations] stated that they are not putting all their marbles in one basket. Even Tony Kornheiser then pointed out to Michael that it should have been eggs, not marbles.  This is a nice conflation of “for all the marbles” (all the winnings, spoils, or rewards) and “put all your eggs in one basket” (to invest all of one’s energy in a single venture).  Marbles resemble eggs and vice versa so this is probably the reason for the mix up.  A big thanks to Gerry Abbott for hearing this one and sending it in.

If you liked this malaphor, check out THE book on malaphors, “He Smokes Like a Fish and other Malaphors”, available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/0692652205.   Buying it is like putting all your malaphors in one basket.

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