The guardrails are coming off
Posted: January 9, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: cnn, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, off the rails, Trump, wheels are coming off, wordplay, words 2 CommentsThis one is from a CNN news story: “The White House official who was in contact with CNN’s Brown said that with the impending departures of both Chief of Staff John Kelly and Mattis, there is a feeling that the guardrails are coming off. The official says “of course it’s crazy. Anyone looking at this has got to think there’s some craziness going on.”https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/22/politics/shutdown-mattis-whitaker-trump/index.htm
This is a congruent conflation of “off the rails” and “the wheels are coming off”, both meaning a state of chaos or disorder. The words “rails” and “wheels” were confused, probably due to the association of both of them (wheels on a railroad car). Of course, if the guardrails are removed, a state of chaos would probably ensue. A big thanks to Ron MacDonald for spotting this one.
The investigation has really hit the rails
Posted: April 14, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, hit the fan, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, off the rails, words 4 CommentsThis mix up, concerning the investigation of Russia’s involvement in the US presidential election, was heard on NPR. It’s a mashup of “off the rails” (in a state of disorder or chaos) and “hit the fan” (become a scandal). Not sure which idiom the speaker intended, as both could fit in context. Perhaps the speaker had a mental image of the hobo catching a ride on a train and “hitting the rails”. A tip of the toque to JoErin Mahokey for hearing this one and passing it on!
P.S. Yvonne Stam, frequent contributor, added this additional explanation: “I would offer ‘hit the wall’ (reach a point of exhaustion) and ‘hit a wall’ (unable to make further progress) as well.” Agreed! Thanks Yvonne!
Malaphors 
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