The Fed should hold pat
Posted: September 4, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, hold fast, hold firm, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, pat hand, stand pat, words Leave a commentWho is Pat and why is she/he being held? This malaphor was found on the NY Times website:
“While the Fed may be loath to show a pull back from its proposed rates, a move upwards followed by a downward revision a year from now if we move toward recession would be worse. We are well under the targeted inflation benchmark, the world economies are reeling. I can see no reason to move up rates. The Fed should hold pat and signal a revisiting next year.” (emphasis added)
This is a congruent conflation of “hold firm” and “stand pat”, both meaning to stick to one’s position or opinion. “Hold fast” (stay the course) certainly is in play here as well, as it fits the context. “Stand” and “hold” are words that could be confused as they mean similar things in card playing – deciding not to receive any additional cards. A “pat hand” is a dealt poker hand that does not need improvement. Of course, it might be the other Pat’s cousin.
A big shout out to Barry Eigen for spotting this one and passing it on!
I have a beef to pick with you
Posted: August 28, 2015 Filed under: beef, bone, Uncategorized | Tags: congruent conflations, expressions, have a beef, have a bone to pick, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, words Leave a commentPossibly the best congruent conflation to date, this beauty was heard by the now famous Malaphor Hunter, John Costello. From my count this is his 11th contribution to the site. It is a mash up of “have a beef” and “have a bone to pick”, both idioms meaning to have a complaint about something. There are many causes for the unintentional conflation. The obvious one is that the two phrases have the same meaning. Also, bone and beef are four letter words, and are somewhat related (cattle have bones, many cuts of beef have bones). We cut our beef with knives (picks).
This malaphor was also uttered (intentionally) by Stephen Colbert when he interviewed Sir Paul McCartney in 2009:
“I have a beef to pick with you, sir, in that you don’t eat beef,” Colbert said. http://vegetarianstar.com/2009/01/
Thanks to John Costello for hearing this one!
I had to pick up the flak
Posted: August 24, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, pick up the pace, pick up the slack, taking flak, words 1 CommentThis was mentioned by a plaintiff who said she had a hard boss. At first blush, it seems like just the misuse of a word (flak instead of slack), but I believe it is also a malaphor, mixing “pick up the slack” (do the work of someone else) and “taking flak” (receiving strong criticism). “Pick up the pace” (increase the rate that something is done) might actually be the phrase the speaker intended, based on the context. Muchas gracias to Sam Edelmann for hearing this one and passing it on!
I am out of pocket until 3:30
Posted: July 3, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, out of pocket, out of touch, words 1 CommentDon Woodall, an old friend of mine, received an email that closed with the sentence “I am out of pocket until 3:30”. He contacted me, indicating that “out of pocket” normally means paid from personal funds or money lost in a transaction, but that the speaker meant “unavailable” or “out of communication”. While this is more of a misused expression, it does mix out of touch with out of pocket. Interestingly, Don points out that the Urban Dictionary says over the past half year or so, “out of pocket” has become a new business catchphrase meaning. So, considering the upcoming holiday, Malaphors will be out of pocket until Monday! Thanks to Don Woodall for this one!
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=out+of+pocket
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!
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