Things are not rosy-dory
Posted: August 1, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Donald Trump, expressions, humor, hunky-dory, malaphor, malaphors, peachy keen, rosy, Rosy Dory, words Leave a commentI usually post my malaphors in the order I receive them, but this one is an exception. Donald Trump was condemning the optimistic picture of the nation that Hillary Clinton painted at the Democratic National Convention. Speaking at a rally in Denver, Trump said Clinton was “talking last night about how wonderful things are. She made it sound like everything is rosy-dory,” Trump said. “Things are not rosy-dory, folks.” See https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal_government/the-latest-trump-slams-clintons-rosy-dory-optimism/2016/07/29/2e11a79c-55f8-11e6-b652-315ae5d4d4dd_story.html This is a congruent conflation of “hunky-dory” and “rosy”, both meaning happy and content.
Interestingly, the Rosy Dory is a cute little fish found in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Not sure Mr. Trump was thinking of this or the Disney movie but it certainly could have been part of the mix up. The malaphor reminds me of an earlier one I posted, “that’s just peachy-dory!”, combining hunky-dory and peachy keen. https://malaphors.com/2014/03/16/thats-just-peachy-dory/
A major shout out to Sam Edelmann for spotting this one and also linking the Rosy Dory fish as well!
Remember when he put his foot through his ass
Posted: July 29, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, put your foot in your mouth, talk through your ass, words Leave a commentThey were from opposite ends of the track
Posted: July 28, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: ESPN 30 for 30, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, opposite ends of the spectrum, Tony Grossi, words, wrong side of the tracks Leave a commentTony Grossi, Cleveland sportswriter, was discussing the differences between Cleveland Browns’ owner Art Modell and head coach Paul Brown in Believeland, an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary. It is a conflation of “opposite ends of the spectrum” (completely opposing views) and “wrong side of the tracks (poor area of town). This mix up stems largely I think from the speakers’s mind conjuring up a town with poor on one side and rich on the other, but wanting to convey differences of opinion and views. Track then substituted for spectrum. Kudos to Mike Kovacs, “The Malaphor Hunter”, for hearing this subtle mash up and sending it in!
You are biting off your nose to spite your face
Posted: July 23, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: biting off more than you can chew, cut off your nose to spite your face, expressions, humor language, malaphor, malaphors, words Leave a commentDuring an excellent discussion on Facebook, one of my friends and loyal malaphor follower and contributor wrote this one and another of my Facebook friends (also a loyal malaphor follower and contributor!) immediately recognized it as a bona fide malaphor. This is a mash up of “cutting off your nose to spite your face” (use self-destructive means to try to solve or fix a problem) and “biting off more than you can chew” (taking on more than you can deal with). Certainly the words bite, chew, and cut are all similar and probably added to the mix up. Also both idioms are of equal length and contain the word “off”. Perhaps the speaker was also thinking of an episode from “The Walking Dead”. Lots of noses bitten off.
The origin of “cutting off your nose to spite your face” is interesting. Wikipedia states that “the phrase is known to have been used in the 12th century. It may be associated with the numerous legends of pious women disfiguring themselves in order to protect their virginity. These cases include Saint Eusebia, Saint Ebba, Saint Oda of Hainault and Saint Margaret of Hungary. The most famous of these cases was that of Saint Ebba (sometimes called Æbbe the Younger), the Mother Superior of the monastery of Coldingham. In 867 AD,Viking pirates from Zealand and Uppsala landed in Scotland. When news of the raid reached Saint Ebba, she gathered her nuns together and urged them to disfigure themselves, so that they might be unappealing to the Vikings. In this way, they hoped to protect their chastity. She demonstrated this by cutting off her nose and upper lip, and the nuns proceeded to do the same. The Viking raiders were so disgusted that they burned the entire building to the ground with the nuns inside.”
A big thanks to Beverly Rollins Sheingold VanDerhei for writing this one and Donna Cosentino for spotting it!
Don’t bite or cut your nose off! Instead, buy the malaphor book “He Smokes Like a Fish and other Malaphors” available now on Amazon! Just click here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0692652205. For $6.99, you get lots of laughs and a terrific bathroom book.
This curve ball has a silver lining
Posted: July 22, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: every cloud has a silver lining, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, Royal Pains, throw him a curve, words Leave a commentOn the show “Royal Pains” (S8.E6 Home Sick), there is a discussion of being able to find good news coming out of bad. A woman says to Hank, the main character, “This curve ball has a silver lining.” This is a mash up of “every cloud has a silver lining” (it is possible for something good to come out of a bad situation) and “throw (someone) a curve” (to confuse someone by doing something unexpected or tricky). A big thanks to Isaac Joel for hearing this one and sending it in!
Speaking of silver linings, you need to get the new book on Malaphors if you have not already done so. It’s called He Smokes Like a Fish and other Malaphors and has a guaranteed laugh on every page! Get it now on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/dp/0692652205 or at Create Space at
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Radical Islam has to be stopped in its roots
Posted: July 20, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, pull out by the roots, root out, stopped in its tracks, words Leave a commentFrank King, frequent contributor and “the cardiac comedian” (http://thefunnyhealthcarespeaker.com/) , heard this one on the Rachel Maddow show. A former radical Islamist was the guest who uttered this malaphor a few times. I believe it is a mash up of “stopped in its tracks” (stop someone or something suddenly and completely) and “root out” or “pulled out by the roots” (completely eradicate). Both phrases mean to stop something completely so it is also a congruent conflation. A big thanks to Frank for hearing this one and sending it in!
I should thank my lucky chickens
Posted: July 15, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: chines zodiac, don't count your chickens before they hatch, earth chickens, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, thank my lucky stars, words Leave a commentThis one seems to be a mash up of “thank my lucky stars” (to be thankful for one’s luck) and “don’t count your chickens before they hatch” (don’t make plans based on future events that might not happen). My guess is that the speaker might have been thinking of her childhood, having Chicken with Stars soup on a cold winter day or in bed sick with a fever. Or perhaps she was thinking of the Chinese zodiac and the earth chicken (1909, 1969, 2029), which are lucky with money. On the other hand, perhaps she had a lucky chicken! In any event, when she said it she had to send it to me immediately as she knew it must have been a mixed up phrase. A big thanks to Jillian Strayhorn for uttering this one and sending it in!
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She won’t cross that path
Posted: July 11, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: cross that line, down that path, expressions, Howard Stern Show, humor, Jim Breuer, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, words Leave a commentComedian Jim Breuer, during his interview on The Howard Stern Show, was talking about his daughter and her reluctance to do a certain thing. He said, “she won’t cross that path.” This is a conflation of “cross the line” (to change from being acceptable to unacceptable) and “go down that path (or road)” (to do a particular thing). Although not in context, the speaker may have been also thinking of “cross paths (with someone)” (meet someone by chance). A big thanks to Vicki Ameel Kovacs, a regular malaphor contributor and loyal follower!
The Howard Stern Show is a goldmine for malaphors, as noted in my book He Smokes Like A Fish and other Malaphors, available on Amazon for a mere 6.99! Check it out! Howard would be proud.
It’s no shirt off my back
Posted: July 8, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, puns, shirt off my back, skin off my back, skin off my nose, words Leave a commentA loyal malaphor follower and contributor, Josh Berry uttered this mixed idiom, attempting to say no skin off my back. It is a mash up of “no skin off my back (or nose)” (not offended or adversely affected by something), and “I’d give the shirt off my back” (give anything that is asked for, no matter the sacrifice). The words “off my back” seem to be the culprit here, appearing in both idioms. “By the skin of my teeth” also seems to be mixed up, based on an internet search, resulting in “it’s no skin off my teeth”. Anyone out there ever said that? I will give my shirt off my back to Josh for saying this one and sending it in (the shirt is a Penguins Stanley Cup champion shirt, however)!
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He dropped it like a lead potato
Posted: July 6, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: dropped like a hot potato, expressions, go over like a lead balloon, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, words Leave a commentThis gem was uttered at school by a teacher discussing an administrative initiative. It is a mash up of “go over like a lead balloon” (to fail completely) and “dropped (someone or something) like a hot potato” (disassociate instantly). This malaphor might be describing both phrases together to illustrate staying away from a failure. Maybe the speaker is from Long Island, where residues of arsenic and lead were found in potatoes. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/004565359400410V
A big thanks to Ann Lynn for hearing this one and sending it in!
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