It was the nail that broke the camel’s back
Posted: April 6, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, final nail in the coffin, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, the straw that broke the camel's back, words Leave a commentThis is a wonderful congruent conflation of “straw that broke the camel’s back” and “the final nail in the coffin”, both meaning an event or action that ultimately leads to the failure of a situation. This malaphor was heard by Elizabeth Poulsen, the daughter of frequent malaphor contributor Marcia Riefer Johnston. Marcia indicated that Google brings up many instances of this phrase, which made her wonder if it is an intentional mashup. After looking at a few of them, they all seemed to be unintentional to me, making it a legitimate malaphor and an excellent one as well as it is congruent. One example found on the internet is a comment noted in the Hollywood Reporter discussing the women in Arrested Development:
Having a crush is normal, especially for costars, but Bialik has taken her infatuation with Jim Parsons to a whole new creepy level that seems to make even Parsons uncomfortable sometimes. She’s obsessed about talking about him, and manages to push her way beside him in press photos all the time, it’s unsettling. I’m not saying this is the nail that broke the camel’s back in her marriage, but if I were her hubby, I wouldn’t stand for all the pathetic Jim Parsons fawning from my wife either. Just sayin’.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/big-bang-theory-arrested-development-569916
Thanks to Elizabeth for sending this one in!
This isn’t my first day at the rodeo
Posted: April 2, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, not my first rodeo, words, you're not a day at the beach Leave a commentA prolific malaphor contributor, Yvonne Stam, was at the beach with her sister. To prepare for something they were about to do, Yvonne said they needed to do x, y and z. Her sister said she already done that, and that it was not her first day at the rodeo. This is a conflation of “not my first rodeo” (more than prepared for a given situation) and “you’re no day at the beach” (someone not easy to deal with). Given that they were at the beach, obviously the speaker had that in mind. Thanks Yvonne for hearing this one and passing it on.
They are fighting the uphill current
Posted: March 30, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, Frank King, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, swim against the current, uphill battle, words Leave a commentThis one was uttered by Rachel Maddow on her MSNBC show. It is a mash up of “uphill battle/struggle” (something difficult often because others are causing problems) and “swim against the current” (go against prevailing thought). The latter metaphor was used by Shakespeare Henry IV: “You must now speak Sir John Falstaff fair, which swims against your stream.” The two phrases were likely jumbled because they both involve someone fighting for something against adversity. A big thanks to the comedian Frank King! You can check out Frank at http://thefunnyhealthcarespeaker.com/.
He is green around the edges
Posted: March 28, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, green, green around the gills, green with envy, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, rough around the edges, words 1 CommentOn the National Geographic show Life Below Zero, one of the cast members (Sue Aikens) commented about getting help from one of her nephews and said that he was green around the edges. This is a mash up of “green” or “a little green” (rookie, not having much experience) and “rough around the edges” (unsophisticated or not refined). “Green around the gills” (look ill and pale) might also be in the mix given the word “around”. This malaphor reminds me of a classic uttered by then Senator Barack Obama. In the second debate, Obama said that McCain would want the public to think that he (Obama) was “green behind the ears” when it came to foreign policy. See my post: https://malaphors.com/2012/08/08/green-behind-the-ears/. Whether it’s wet or rough, it always seems to be green! A big thanks to Mike Ameel for hearing this one and passing it along!
I am going to take it by ear
Posted: March 25, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, play it by ear, take it as it comes, take it day by day, take it in stride, words Leave a commentYou can’t beat that with a dead horse
Posted: March 23, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: beat a dead horse, can't beat that, can't beat that with a stick, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, words 2 CommentsConference calls are goldmines for malaphors. This amusing ditty was heard on a conference call and Greg, a faithful malaphor follower, spotted it immediately. I’m not sure what “that” is, but it more than likely can’t be beaten with a dead horse. This is a mash up of “beat a dead horse” (waste time doing something that has already been attempted), “can’t beat (or top) that” (no one can do better than that) and the extension of the latter, “you can’t beat that with a stick” (no one can do better than that). A stick might be used to prod a horse so the speaker might have had a vision of using a stick to flog or beat a dead horse.
I don’t want to spoil her thunder
Posted: March 21, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, spoil the ending, spoil the surprise, steal someone's thunder, words 2 CommentsThe host at a seminar was introducing the speaker and started to go into detail about some of her work. She caught herself and then said this malaphor. It is a mash up of “spoil the surprise (or ending)” (to ruin a surprise or ending by revealing it ahead of time) and “steal {someone’s) thunder” (when someone takes another person’s information or idea and uses it as their own). Spoil and steal are both five letter words starting with s that probably led to the confusion. A shout out to malaphor follower Ian for hearing this one and passing it on!
I want to rattle the tree
Posted: March 19, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Dateline, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, rattle his cage, shake his tree, words Leave a comment
If the shoe was turned
Posted: March 17, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, if the tables were turned, language, malaphor, malaphors, Morning Edition, NPR, Orrin Hatch, the shoe is on the other foot, words Leave a commentHad to post this one immediately. Today on NPR’s “Morning Edition” Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), responding to a question about him refusing to act on Obama’s Supreme Court nomination, implied the Democrats would do the same thing “If the shoe was turned”. This is a wonderful congruent conflation of “if the tables were turned” and “if the shoe was on the other foot”, both meaning to experience or cause the opposite situation. See also the link: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/03/orrin-hatch-merrick-garland-democrats-220914. A big thank you to Paula Garrety for hearing this gem and passing it along!
Pittsburgh is a blue market town
Posted: March 15, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: black market, blue collar, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, small market, words 1 CommentMy son was describing Pittsburgh and uttered this malaphor. It is a combo of “small market” (sports term for a team that struggles to compete financially with teams from larger markets) and ” blue collar” (working class or having to do with manual labor). “Black market” (business of buying or selling illegal goods) may also be in the mix, confusing blue and black. Perhaps this phrase will catch on and describe those cities that are both small market and blue collar (Cleveland, Buffalo, Detroit, etc). Thanks to Kevin Hatfield for passing this one along!
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