Salt Lake City is not through the weeds yet
Posted: May 1, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Eric Mendenhall, expressions, humor, in the weeds, malaphor, out of the woods, Salt lake City, words Leave a commentThis is the headline in a recent Salt Lake City Tribune newspaper article, discussing the city’s need to continue practicing social distancing and mask wearing because of the Covid-19 virus. Here is the headline:
https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2020/04/24/erin-mendenhall-salt-lake/
I think it is a mashup of “out of the woods” (out of danger) and “in the weeds” (consumed with details). “Weeds” and woods” sound similar, contributing to the mixup. Or perhaps Utah is thinking of legislating marijuana? A big thanks to Kathy Shand for spotting this beauty. @sltrib @slcmayor
They are not out of the clear
Posted: September 16, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: cnn, Dorian, expressions, humor, in the clear, James Joseph, malaphor, malaphors, out of danger, out of the woods, words Leave a commentJames Joseph, senior FEMA administrator, on CNN, told people in Florida not to ignore warnings and think themselves safe from the effects of the oncoming hurricane Dorian. It’s a congruent conflation of “out of the woods” and “in the clear”, both meaning to be free of danger. Perhaps the speaker was thinking of a clearing in the woods. “Out of danger”, also meaning to be free of danger, might also be in the mix. A big thanks to “my ol’ pal” Beatrice Zablocki for hearing this one.
We are not out of the clear
Posted: January 25, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, in the clear, Kamala Harris, malaphor, malaphors, MSNBC, out of the woods, Rachel Maddow, Trump, words Leave a commentThis dandy conflation comes straight from the mouth of Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show. She was discussing Russian interference in the U.S. Presidential election and explained that “we are not out of the clear”. This is congruent conflation of “out of the woods” and “in the clear”, both meaning to be free from danger or suspicion of wrongdoing. This malaphor was repeated by MSNBC on its twitter feed: Sen. Kamala Harris: “We’re not out of the clear in terms of 2018 election cycle” https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/952057691974881280
Many followers caught this one, including Beatrice Zablocki, Sam Edelmann, and Frank King. I guess this one was very clear.
It’s not out of the bag yet
Posted: June 24, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, out of reach, out of the bag, out of the woods, words 2 CommentsA discussion took place about a potential contract. The person pursuing the contract said there were significant problems, “but it’s not out of the bag yet”. This is a good example of an incongruent conflation (mixing two idioms with opposite meanings). It is a mash up of “in the bag” (a certain thing) and “out of reach” (unattainable). “Not out of the woods” (not past a critical phase) may also be in the mix, as it seems in context with the speaker’s intention that obtaining the contract has not quite been achieved. Opposite words such as “in” and “out” seem to confuse the brain and mouth frequently. Kudos to Sam Edelmann for hearing this one and passing it on.
Do you hear these a lot? Do you say them a lot? If so, buy my book on malaphors – He Smokes Like a Fish and other Malaphors available now on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/dp/0692652205.
Malaphors 
Recent Comments