She was threading that line in the Trump Administration
Posted: October 20, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, Kathleen Parker, language, malaphor, malaphors, MSNBC, Nikki Haley, thread the needle, toe the line, Trump, words 1 CommentKathleen Parker from the Washington Post uttered this one on MSNBC (the malaphor channel), talking about Nikki Haley. It is a conflation of “toeing the line” (adhering to the rules of something) and “threading the needle” (pass something through a narrow space between two things). Both idioms make sense in context, and perhaps Ms. Parker’s malaphor is really an economical way of expressing two ideas at once. A big thanks to Jim Kozlowski for hearing this one and passing it on.
She’s trying to walk this needle
Posted: November 21, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Boston Globe, Chris Matthews, congruent conflation, expressions, humor, Kelly Ayotte, language, malaphor, malaphors, thread the needle, toe the line, walk a fine line, words Leave a commentThe election is over, but the malaphors continue to flood in. This one was heard on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews. Discussing Kelly Ayotte’s (R-NH) response to the question of Donald Trump being a role model, James Pindell of the Boston Globe uttered this gem. It is a congruent conflation of “walk a thin (fine) line” and “thread the needle”, both meaning to skillfully navigate through a tough dilemma. “Toe the line” might also be in the mix, with the speaker thinking toes do the walking. A big thanks to Sally Adler for hearing this one and sending it in!
Malaphors 
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