I need to get my blood rate up

Posted: July 2, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , | 1 Comment

The speaker and her husband were getting ready for their morning walk. She said, “We’ll have to walk fast so I can get my blood rate up.” This is a congruent conflation of “get my heart rate up” and “get my blood flowing”, both meaning to get active or start moving. A healthy hurrah to Beverly Rollins Sheingorn VanDerhei for saying this one and sending it in!

Talking to him goes in one ear and out of his ass

Posted: June 28, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The speaker was exasperated with an adversary in court. She told her husband, “Well, talking to him goes in one ear and out of his ass. It’s simply useless.” This is a mashup of “in one ear and out the other” (essentially ignored or forgotten almost immediately after being heard) and “talk out (of) (one’s) ass” (to talk nonsense or exaggerate one’s achievements). The speaker must have been thinking her adversary was an “ass” when she jumbled the two phrases. A shout out to Marykathryn Kopec for unintentionally uttering this one and sharing it with us! Paints an interesting picture.

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He’s come off the tracks

Posted: June 20, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Scott Galloway, a podcaster and professor at New York University, calmly explained that he believes Musk has “come off the tracks” when conservative host Piers Morgan asked if he accepted that Musk was a “genius.” I believe this is a rare triple conflation of “come unhinged” and “off the rails”, both meaning to behave in a way that is wild and unacceptable, and “off track”, meaning straying off the central subject. “Tracks” and “rails” are similar and add to the confusion. Here is the article: 

https://www.nj.com/politics/2025/06/brutal-takedown-of-elon-musk-leaves-butt-kissing-piers-morgan-and-kevin-oleary-speechless.html

A tip of the hat to Frank King for spotting this one and sending it in!

He just keeps his head to the grindstone

Posted: June 16, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Retired Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher and t.v. broadcaster Steve Blass was being interviewed by sports commentator Mark Madden last week.  They were talking about superstar Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes and about what he must think about never getting run support.  Blass said “he just keeps his head to the grindstone”.  This is a mashup of “keep your nose to the grindstone” (work hard and constantly) and “keep your head in the game” (stay focused and concentrate). “Keep your head down” (avoid trouble or attention) might also be in the mix as Blass was referring to Skenes’ ability to block out any exterior factors and just focus on the game.  It seems that various body parts get mixed up when thinking about the idiom “keep your nose to the grindstone”. I have previously posted “keep an ear to the grindstone” and “put your shoulder to the grindstone”. https://malaphors.com/2012/12/01/keep-an-ear-to-the-grindstone/ https://malaphors.com/2012/07/20/put-your-shoulder-to-the-grindstone/

A big thank you to Mike Ameel for hearing this one and sending it in!

I fell through the loops

Posted: June 2, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

The contributor’s wife found out that she was not scheduled for a surgical procedure and commented that she “fell through the loops”. This is a conflation of “fell through the cracks” (unintentionally ignored or neglected) and “out of the loop” (not privy to the most up to date information). Both idioms describe someone being left out. “Loophole” might also be in the mix as it has a similar meaning to “falling through the cracks.” A big thank you to whitedog4u for hearing this one and sending it in.

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Sweating cats and dogs

Posted: May 30, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On the You Tube show, Our Abandoned Home Renovation: A Year Later, a husband and wife are renovating a house and the wife comments on the amount of sweat. It’s at the 18:30 mark:

This is a mashup of “raining cats and dogs” (raining hard and a lot) and “sweating buckets” (sweating profusely). Both idioms describe intensity and copious amounts of something. A big shout out to Verbatim for spotting this one and sending it in.

Shaky waters

Posted: May 14, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On the podcast Due South, host Leonita Inge was talking about how tariffs are affecting the North Carolina furniture industry. Here is the relevant part of the transcript of the show:

This is a mashup of “shaky ground” (an argument or position that is weak) and “murky waters” (situation that is not well known and could be dangerous). This one is similar to a previous post, “he’s standing on shaky ice”. https://malaphors.com/2025/04/14/hes-standing-on-shaky-ice/

Kudos to Yvonne Stam for hearing this one and sending it in!

You come in all shooting for bear

Posted: May 12, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

ABC’s Terry Moran interviewed Trump recently. In the course of the interview, Moran asked Trump if he trusted Putin. https://abcnews.go.com/US/full-transcript-trumps-exclusive-100-days-broadcast-interview/story?id=121291672

TERRY MORAN: Do you trust him?

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I don’t trust you. I don’t trust — I don’t trust a lot of people. I don’t trust you. Look at you. You come in all shooting for bear. You’re so happy to do the interview.

TERRY MORAN: I am happy —

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: And then you start hitting me with fake questions. You start tellin’ me that a guy — whose hand is covered with a tattoo —

TERRY MORAN: Alright. We’re back to that.

This is a conflation of “loaded for bear” (fully prepared for a challenge) and “shooting from the hip” (speak recklessly or impulsively). A big thanks to Mike Kovacs for hearing this one and sending it in!

Living in a fantasy tale

Posted: May 10, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On the podcast The Megyn Kelly Show, Dave Portnoy, president and founder of Barstool Sports, was being interviewed by Kelly. They were talking about Meghan Markle’s perceived entitlement and portraying herself as a victim. Portnoy said that Markle didn’t need to work or complain as she is “living in a fantasy tale.” You can hear this one at the 1:34:00 minute mark (May 1, 2025 show). This is a congruent conflation of “a fairy tale” and “fantasy land”, both referring to imaginary places of utter perfection and happiness. A big thanks to Verbatim for hearing this one and sending it in.

Like a kid in a candy jar

Posted: May 5, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On the Office Ladies podcast, hosted by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, they talked about some of the best mistaken idioms ever uttered by Angela because she’s prone to such things. One of her favorites was “like a kid in a candy jar.”

https://officeladies.com/transcript-ep-225-all-about-michael-scott

This is a mashup of “like a kid in a candy store” (many enticing options from which it is difficult to make a selection) and “caught with (one’s) hands in the cookie jar” (caught in the act of some wrongdoing). Cookies and candies seem to be the mental mixup here. Might be some Willy Wonka sh*t going on here. A big thanks to Jake Lauer for hearing this one and sending it in!

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