It’s like the cherry on top of the cake
Posted: June 5, 2014 Filed under: cake, cherry, FOOD | Tags: Animal Planet, blended idioms, cherry on top, congruent conflation, expressions, humor, icing on the cake, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idiom, treehouse masters, words 5 CommentsThis one was heard on the Animal Planet tv show, Treehouse Masters. Daryl, the foreman, was referring to a door on the treehouse that looked like a sarcophagus. It is a congruent conflation of “icing on the cake” and “cherry on top”, both meaning an extra enhancement to something. There are certainly cherries that appear on the top of some cakes, but not as common as sundaes. In fact there is a Quebec idiom, “la cerise sur le sundae”, also with the same meaning but the cherry is on the sundae, not cake. A shout out to my high school buddy, Marti Fenimore, for sending this one in!
I’m cursing like a race horse
Posted: May 17, 2014 Filed under: ANIMALS, horse, sailor | Tags: curse like a sailor, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idiom, piss like a race horse, words Leave a commentThis is a mash up of “cursing like a sailor” (swearing a lot) and “pissing like a race horse” (no definition required). Not sure how the speaker could confuse cursing and pissing, although cursing does sound like coursing. Of course, many of us have cursed AT race horses before, so that could be part of the mix-up. Many thanks to Lisa O’Donnell, who heard this gem from a neighbor’s lips.
We are going to keep this one in the back of our pocket
Posted: May 10, 2014 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: back of our mind, blended idioms, in my back pocket, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idiom, property brothers 6 CommentsThis was spoken by one of the Property Brothers (Drew Scott), referring to a house that was a “maybe”. I believe this is a mash up of “”in the back of my mind” and “put it in my back pocket”, both meaning to keep an idea to use later. This one is subtle but nevertheless a nice mixed idiom. Hats off to Yvonne Stam for hearing this one!
We barely scratched the tip of the iceberg
Posted: January 19, 2013 Filed under: ACTION, iceberg, scratch, THINGS | Tags: blended idiom, expression, humor, iceberg, language, malaphor, mixed idiom, scratched the surface, tip of the iceberg, words Leave a commentThis congruent malaphor is a mix of “barely scratching the surface” and “tip of the iceberg”, both referring to the beginning of a much larger issue or problem. Here is an example
in context:
In closing, the recession is hard but that is not to say that survival is impossible, but you will have to be more creative with your money especially if you are a family at a budget. Of course, these tips only scratched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to financial planning and frugality. If you’ve already done these tips and are finding you need additional help, then never underestimate the power of a reasonable and well-thought-out budget. (from the article, Top 5 Ways for families to survive the Recession – http://voices.yahoo.com/top-5-ways-families-survive-recession-8644177.html?cat=25).
English: Iceberg around Cape York, Greenland (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I can’t put my foot on it
Posted: July 31, 2012 Filed under: BODY PARTS | Tags: blended idiom, expressions, malaphor, mixed idiom, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, words 2 CommentsI read this one in the local paper (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) yesterday. In responding to a question as to why he has been pitching so poorly since the All star break, James McDonald of the Pittsburgh Pirates said, “I can’t put my foot on it yet”. This malaphor is a combo of “can’t put my finger on it” and “putting my foot down”. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Let’s roll up our elbows and get to work
Posted: July 30, 2012 Filed under: ACTION, BODY PARTS, CLOTHING | Tags: blended idiom, elbow, expressions, malaphor, mixed idiom, sleeves, words, work 1 CommentThis one is a mash-up of “roll up your sleeves” and “elbow grease”, both idioms describing working hard. Rolling up the elbows fuses those idioms together very nicely and describes applying oneself to the task at hand perhaps better and certainly more succinctly! By the way, this is another one of the master’s gems.
He did it at the drop of a dime
Posted: July 30, 2012 Filed under: ACTION, THINGS | Tags: blended idiom, dime, expressions, hat, malaphor, mixed idiom, words 4 CommentsPretty straightforward malaphor? Seems like a combination of “do at the drop of a hat” and “he dropped the dime”. Very different meanings, but the word “drop” apparently led the speaker to think “dime” instead of “hat” (alliteration perhaps?) and thus another malaphor was born.
I screwed myself in the foot
Posted: July 29, 2012 Filed under: ACTION, BODY PARTS | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, foot, malaphors, mixed idiom, words Leave a commentOh yes, I heard this one from “the master” one day after lunch. It is a blend of “shot myself in the foot” and “I screwed up”, creating a delightful and colorful malaphor. Again, “the master” improved the two idioms and made what I think a more descriptive one.
We missed our door of opportunity
Posted: July 27, 2012 Filed under: THINGS, TIME | Tags: blended idiom, door, expressions, maaphor, mixed idiom, window of opportunity, words 3 CommentsAt first blush, this one sounds right, but on further inspection, the speaker has apparently blended “window of opportunity” with “when one door closes, another door opens” (or maybe “open door policy”?). The resulting malaphor certainly makes sense as a window and a door are both openings and both idioms convey similar meanings. Less verbiage is always a good thing (you can quote me on that).
Spur of the minute
Posted: July 26, 2012 Filed under: TIME | Tags: blended idiom, expressions, idiom, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idiom, words Leave a commentI heard this from “the master” several times. He was never one to do things spontaneously, so I thought this malaphor expressed his actual feelings. This classic mixes “spur of the moment” with “in a minute”, implying perhaps a bit of hesitancy to a potential spontaneous action?
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