You had to figure out what you were going to do on a dime’s notice

Steve Grieme, one of the best malaphor spotters around, heard a beauty on CNN last week.  A guy was videotaping some of the raging wildfires in Southern California.  In response to a reporter’s question about people fleeing from their homes, he said, “Fight of flight. You had to figure out what you were going to do on a dimes notice”.  This is a congruent conflation of “moment’s notice” and “be prepared to turn on a dime”, both meaning to act quickly.  Thanks Steve!

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1405/17/cnr.03.html