They would throw him to the fishes

Posted: August 20, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Representative Steve Cohen (D – TN) was talking on MSNBC about the New York Times report that White House counsel Don McGahn has been cooperating with the Mueller investigation team for the past year.  Cohen was speculating that McGahn felt at risk of Trump using him as a fall guy in the obstruction of justice probe, and so uttered this beauty.  It is a mashup of “thrown to the wolves” (to sacrifice someone in order to protect others) and “swimming (or sleeping) with the fishes” (a gangster cliche meaning to be murdered).  Both idioms refer to a person who gets hurt; hence, the mix up.  Cohen may also have been thinking about the mafia way of doing business and the White House way of doing business.  A big thanks to chief malaphor hunter Mike Kovacs for hearing this one and sending it in.

The deck is tilted against Trump

Posted: August 19, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A very perceptive follower noticed at the bottom of the screen on Fox News a chyron read: “…in Mueller investigation deck tilted against Trump.”  This is a congruent conflation of “deck is stacked” and “the scales (balance) are tilted”, both meaning that one side has gained advantage.  You can’t tilt a deck of cards (unless you’re Penn Jillette).  A shout out to Eagle-Eared, and in this case, Eagle-Eyed, Frank King for spotting this one.

He’s running the shots

Posted: August 17, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This excellent malaphor was uttered by a CNN reporter on the program New Day on 8/9/18.  The reporter was referring to Mueller, and his ongoing negotiations with Trump’s legal team with respect to an interview with Trump.  It’s a congruent conflation of “running the show” and “calling the shots”, both referring to someone who is in control of the situation.  “Show” and “shot” are both four letter words that have similar sounds, and I suspect the reason for the mental mix up.  A big thank you to Mike Kovacs for hearing this one and sending it in.  

Today he evened out the scales

Posted: August 15, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This was uttered by Julia Ainsley on MSNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes show.  She was referring to Manafort’s lawyer cross-examining Rick Gates.  It is a mashup of three idioms:  “even out” (to make something more balanced), “even the score” (avenge a wrong), and “balance the scales” (to make even).  A big thanks to Frank King for hearing this one and sending it in.

The President calls the ball

Posted: August 13, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments
This delightful malaphor was uttered by Secretary of State Pompeo during a Senate hearing.  He was responding to a number of comments regarding the President’s rhetoric being inconsistent with what his subordinates are actually doing.  Here is the context:
“You basically have two different foreign policies in the United States, you have the foreign policy of the Trump administration and you have the foreign policy of President Trump himself,” historian Max Boot told CNN’s Brooke Baldwin on Thursday.
“What the President says and does is ultimately more important that what people underneath him are doing,” he continued. “They are not getting a unity of purpose and they are not getting a consistent message out because the President is completely at odds with his own government.”
Administration officials dismiss such commentary, either denying there is a gap between the President and his subordinates or insisting that he alone sets administration policy.
Pompeo faced repeated variations of this question during a fiery Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing last month.
“The President calls the ball. His statements are in fact policy,” Pompeo said. “This President runs this government. His statements are in fact US policy.”  https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/03/politics/russia-election-interference-white-house-response-trump/index.html
This is a congruent conflation of “calls the shots” and “has the ball”, both meaning to be in command to make decisions.  “Calls the play” might also be in the mix.  My guess is that the speaker was also thinking of the idiom “calls the strikes and balls”, again meaning to make the decisions (like an umpire in baseball).  A shout out to Vicki Ameel-Kovacs for hearing this one on MSNBC and sharing it.

Now we get into the heat of the meat

Posted: August 7, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Stephen Colbert, in his 7/25/18 monologue, uttered this one when discussing the Cohen tape on the Trump payoff of the McDougall matter.  Here’s the link to the video:

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6q7km5

It is a mashup of “in the heat of the moment” (doing something without thinking) and “the meat of the matter” (the most important or essential element of an issue or problem).  “Heart of the matter” (same definition as “meat of the matter”) might also be in play, as “heart” and “heat” are similar in sound and looks.  A big thanks to Sam Edelmann for hearing this one and sending it in.

I set the die that day

Posted: August 6, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sean Spicer​, during an interview with the BBC, regretted his poor performance in discussing the size of the Trump inauguration crowd ​on his first day as Press Secretary.  he then uttered this classic.  It is a mashup of “set the tone” (establish the manner in which something will be conducted) and “the die is cast” (a course of action is finalized).  My guess is that the speaker was thinking of die casting, the process used to produce metal parts.  Given the amount of lies from Mr. Spicer’s boss’s lips in the past two years, I think he definitely set the die.

“My Ol’ Pal” has a slightly different take.  She says: “When Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon, he was said to have stated “The die is cast,” meaning that he had decided the fate of Rome. Perhaps Sean Spicer was thinking that he had determined the future of the administration’s falsifications with his pronouncement about the size of the crowd at the inauguration.”  Indeed.  For the quote, see 3:55 mark at:   https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06fkvhp

A big thanks to David Barnes for hearing this one and sending it in.

Trump continues to play straight out of Putin’s pocket

Posted: July 25, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This terrific mashup was spoken by Joe Scarborough on his show, “Morning Joe”, on July 17, 2018.  It is a conflation of “a page out of (someone’s) playbook” (to behave or act like someone else) and “in (someone’s) pocket” (under someone’s direct control or influence).  This mix up has its own unique connotation: someone who is directed by someone else and is following that person’s command or orders.  A big thanks to James Kozlowski for hearing this one and sending it in.

Trump held Michael Cohen at arm’s distance

Posted: July 23, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This ditty was uttered on July 20 by Stephanie Ruhle on MSNBC’s “Velshi and Ruhle”.  It is a nice congruent conflation of “at arm’s length” and “keep at a distance”, both meaning to keep someone from becoming too close.  Perhaps a “distance” is farther than an “arm”?  I imagine that fits in this context.  A big thanks to Frank King, the Mental Health Comedian, for hearing this one and sending it in.

Everyone runs for the fences

Posted: July 22, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Martha MacCallum on Fox News said this nicely formed malaphor.  It is a mashup of “run (or head) for the hills” (depart quickly) and “swing for the fences” (to act or perform with maximum intensity).  In baseball, you swing and then run, and that is possibly the mental image the speaker had when she uttered this one.  Also, the word “for” is common in both phrases.  A big thanks to Ralph Aikman for hearing this one and sending it in.

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