A rose is a rose by any other name
Posted: January 4, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, Gertrude Stein, Hardball, humor, language, literature, malaphor, MSNBC, Shakespeare, words Leave a commentThis is a nice literary malaphor, uttered on the MSNBC show Hard Ball . It is a congruent conflation of Shakespeare’s “A rose by any other name” and Gertrude Stein’s sentence “a rose is a rose is a rose”, both interpreted as meaning things are what they are. A big thanks to Mike Kovacs for hearing this conflation of two famous lines in literature.
Trump is hunkering in
Posted: December 31, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: digging in, Elise Jordan, expressions, humor, hunkering down, language, malaphor, malaphors, MSNBC, Trump, wordplay, words Leave a commentThis was uttered by Elise Jordan on MSNBC, as she was describing Trump alone in the White House. It is a congruent conflation of “digging in” and “hunkering down”, both meaning to get started in working on something or alternatively to seek refuge in a particular place. A big thanks to Frank King for catching this one.
The government pulled the wool over him
Posted: December 21, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Ali Velshi, expressions, humor, malaphor, Matt Apuzzo, MSNBC, pulled one over on him, pulled the wool over his eyes, Trump, wordplay, words Leave a commentOn the Ali Velshi MSNBC show, Matt Apuzzo was talking about General Flynn and that some believe the government tricked him. He then uttered this nice malaphor, which is a congruent conflation of “pull the wool over (one’s) eyes” and “pull one over on him”, both meaning to trick or deceive. The operative word here is “pull” which appears in each idiom. A big thanks to Hawk-eared Frank King for hearing this gem.
We will be able to put all the dots in a row
Posted: December 6, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Chris Hayes, connect the dots, expressions, get your ducks in a row, humor, Jackie Speier, malaphor, malaphors, MSNBC, Mueller, Trump, wordplay, words Leave a commentJackie Speier (D-CA) uttered this nice malaphor on the All In with Chris Hayes show on MSNBC (11/28/18). Here is the context: “and I have no doubt in my mind that we will at some point, when the Mueller investigation is over, be able to put all the dots in a row and draw a line through them.” This is a congruent conflation of “get your ducks in a row” (organize your affairs) and “connect the dots” (to understand something by piecing together bits of information). “Dots” and “ducks” sound alike and the idea of connecting dots is similar to a row. A big thanks to Mike Kovacs for hearing this one.
It’s petering down
Posted: November 19, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, Heidi Przybyla, humor, idioms, language, malaphors, Morning Joe, MSNBC, petering out, Trump, winding down, words Leave a commentNo, this was not said in an erectile dysfunction commercial, but rather by Heidi Przybyla on MSNBC’s Morning Joe the other day. She was talking about the Mueller investigation. It is a congruent conflation of “petering out” and “winding down”, both meaning to slowly come to a conclusion or end. Another tip of the hat to Frank King for spotting this one. He has the ears of a hawk.
The President is using his bully pit to create questions on our elections
Posted: November 16, 2018 Filed under: WORD BLENDS | Tags: bully pulpit, expressions, malaphor, malaphors, Maria Teresa Kumar, MSNBC, pit bull, Trump, words 1 CommentThis gem was uttered by Maria Teresa Kumar on MSNBC’s Last Word on November 12, 2018. Is it a malaphor? I think it is a malaphor word blend of “bully pulpit” (a public position that allows a person to share his views with a large audience) and “pit bull” (an aggressive and tenacious person). The latter defines the subject and the former was the intended idiom to be used. A big thank you to James Kozlowski for hearing this one and sharing it.
Not to put too fine a brush on it
Posted: October 25, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: humor, Joe Scarborough, language, malaphors, Morning Joe, MSNBC, not to put too fine a point, paint with a broad brush, words 1 CommentHeard on Morning Joe by Joe himself. It is a mashup of “put too fine a point on it” (to belabor or exaggerate the importance of some point or detail), and “paint (something) with a broad brush” (describe something in general or vague terms). Brushes can indeed be fine, hence the mixup. A big thanks to Frank King for spotting yet another malaphor in the wilds of MSNBC.
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