You’re a tough nut to follow
Posted: July 1, 2015 Filed under: crack, FOOD, nut | Tags: expressions, hard act to follow, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, tough nut to crack, words Leave a commentI had to post this one right away, as it comes on the heels of Lara Hayhurst Compton’s “better safe than never”, which we both agree should be Planned Parenthood’s new slogan. “A tough nut to follow” was spoken by Tim Hughes, a talented actor who is currently playing the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz at the Fulton Theater in Lancaster, PA. This malaphor is a mash up of “tough act to follow” (outstanding performance) and “tough nut to crack” (difficult person or problem to deal with). Tough is the operative word here, which my guess led to the malaphor. Of course, Tim might have been referring to a difficult person who gave a great performance! This one is also similar to “tough nut to swallow” see – https://malaphors.com/2013/02/20/that-would-be-a-tough-nut-to-swallow/ A big thank you to Lara Hayhurst Compton for hearing this one and passing it on!
You’re yanking my leg
Posted: June 25, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, pulling my leg, words, yanking my chain 1 CommentThat Mistress of Malaphors, Naomi David, has struck again. Her mom asked her what a “shout out” was, and MM replied, “you’re yanking my leg” as she could not believe her mom wasn’t aware of the expression. This gem is a mash up of “yanking my chain” (giving someone a hard time) and “pulling my leg” (play a joke on or tease). Both expressions have similar meanings and have similar action verbs – yanking and pulling. Perhaps leg chains were also involved in this mental hair ball. The last time I heard this expression was in a chiropractor’s office. A big shout out to Naomi David for uttering this one and to Katie Hatfield for sending it in!
That set my hairs on end
Posted: June 1, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, made my hair stand on end, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, set me off, set my hair on fire, teeth on edge, words 4 CommentsWe’ll be laughed out of the water
Posted: May 20, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: blown out of the water, expressions, humor, language, laughed out of court, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, words Leave a commentAt a meeting last week, Beehive Crick, a malaphor follower, overheard this gem uttered by a client who was worried. It is a mash up of “laugh out of court” (dismiss something presented in earnest as ridiculous) and “blow (something) out of the water” (to destroy something, such as a plan). Interestingly, this seems to be a common malaphor based on the number of entries on the internet using this mixed idiom. Thank you Beehive!
I was dead to the wind
Posted: May 6, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: dead to the world, expressions, gone with the wind, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, words Leave a commentSteve Grieme, a frequent contributor to this blog, heard this one from his very exhausted wife after a late night dinner and early wake-up. It is a mash up of “dead to the world” (sound asleep) and “gone with the wind (disappeared or gone forever). Both expressions indicate a completeness. Isn’t dead to the wind a nautical term? A big thanks as always to Steve for keeping his ear to the grindstone for malaphors!
I’m not one to wave the drum for feminism too often
Posted: May 4, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: beat the drum, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, wave the flag, words Leave a commentIn the course of discussing workplace politics, the speaker uttered this gem. It is a perfect congruent conflation of “wave the flag” and “beat the drum”, both meaning to promote or support someone or something. Question for the day: if a drum is waved, will anyone hear it? A tip of the hat to Laura for sending this one in!
I worked my butt to the bone
Posted: May 1, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, Judge Judy, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, words, worked my butt off, worked my fingers to the bone 2 CommentsI’ve heard “bad to the bone”, but “butt to the bone”? This hilarious, alliterative malaphor was uttered on a radio commercial promo for an upcoming Judge Judy show. It is a congruent conflation of “worked my butt off” and “worked my fingers to the bone”, both meaning to work extremely hard. Perhaps this should now be an expression used by workout trainers. A big thank you to Steve Grieme who heard this one and passed it on!
He who hesitates doesn’t get the early worm
Posted: April 22, 2015 Filed under: ANIMALS, bird, worms | Tags: early bird catches the worm, expressions, he who hesitates is lost, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, words Leave a commentFollowers may recall a recent post from Marykathryn, who was described as “The Norma Crosby of Malaphors”, and who uttered the classic “do you think I would paint myself in a corner and throw away the key?” She now has sent another classic, spoken out of exasperation. Her husband apparently is a slow and cautious driver. He was trying to make a right hand turn onto a busy road and missed at least three chances that Norma Crosby perceived. So, she calmly said to him, “You know Danny, he who hesitates doesn’t get the early worm.” This is a conflation of “he who hesitates is lost” (people should act decisively) and “the early bird catches the worm” (the one who arrives first has the best chance for success). It is somewhat congruent as both proverbs relate to acting quickly to achieve success. Trivia tidbit – The Early Worm Gets the Bird was the name of a Merrie Melodies 1940s cartoon by the great Tex Avery. A big thank you to Marykathryn for sending this one in!
I can’t put all my chickens in one basket
Posted: April 11, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: chicken, chicken basket, don't count your chickens before they hatch, eggs in one basket, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, words 2 CommentsWhich came first: the chicken or the egg? Seems like a difficult question given the amount of malaphors posted on this site involving barnyard animals and their offspring ( e.g., all your eggs lined up, too many eggs spoil the soup, and don’t count your chickens before they come home to roost, to name just a few). This beauty is a mash up of “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” (don’t make everything dependent on one thing) and “don’t count your chickens before they hatch” (don’t expect something before it happens). The speaker may have also been hungry and thinking of a chicken basket. Yum. Chicken in a basket used to be a pub favorite in England. Thanks to Jody Compton for hearing this one uttered by the wonderful actress Lara Hayhurst Compton!
He’s a black horse in all of this
Posted: April 7, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: black sheep, dark horse, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, words Leave a commentThis beauty (black?) was recently heard on the t.v. show “Dancing With the Stars”, as the speaker was describing a contestant who was not favored to win the competition. The malaphor is a mix of “dark horse” (a potential winner even though not the favorite) and “black sheep” (a disreputable or unloved family member). The confusion is with dark/black and animals – horses and sheep, as the idioms are incongruent. Thanks to Jack Chandler for sending this one in!
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