Trump was being interviewed by Maria Bartiromo on Fox yesterday (June 29, 2025). She asked him about the tariffs on China and he responded that Biden had a trillion dollar deficit with China, adding that “he (Biden) let them (China) take them (U.S.) over the coals.” This is a mashup of “rake them over the coals” (call to task or reprimand severely) and “take them to the cleaners” (cheat one out of one’s money or possessions). “Rake” and “take” seem to have confused the speaker here. You can hear this at the :39 mark:
Donald Trump appeared to get a little confused on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, as he attempted to lob an insult at his predecessor during a speech at Fort Bragg. “I’ve known this guy for a long time”, Trump said of former President Joe Biden. “He was never the sharpest bulb”. https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-says-joe-biden-was-never-the-sharpest-bulb/
This is a congruent conflation of “not the sharpest tool in the shed” and “not the brightest bulb in the pack”, both describing a slow-witted or dull person. While I have posted this one previously (and numerous variations), I thought that given the source and the context I would be remiss if I did not include this great one in the Malaphor library. Shout outs to Peter H, Karl Robins, and Buzz McClain for spotting this one and sending it in!
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I don’t trust you. I don’t trust — I don’t trust a lot of people. I don’t trust you. Look at you. You come in all shooting for bear. You’re so happy to do the interview.
TERRY MORAN: I am happy —
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: And then you start hitting me with fake questions. You start tellin’ me that a guy — whose hand is covered with a tattoo —
TERRY MORAN: Alright. We’re back to that.
This is a conflation of “loaded for bear” (fully prepared for a challenge) and “shooting from the hip” (speak recklessly or impulsively). A big thanks to Mike Kovacs for hearing this one and sending it in!
This one was heard on the MSNBC podcast All In with Chris Hayes. It is a mashup of “kowtow” (acting in a subservient manner) and “toe the line” (accept the authority of an individual or group). Both are about conforming in some manner. You can hear the malaphor at 40:26:
Last week on the show Deadline: White House, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was talking about Trump and his reckless behavior. He then uttered this nice congruent conflation of “shooting from the hip” and “flying by the seat of (one’s) pants”, both meaning to act or speak impulsively without planning in advance. Can’t help but think “shitting (one’s) pants” (to be extremely frightened) might also have been on the speaker’s mind. Kudos to Steve Messinger for hearing this one and sending it in!
Heard on April 6. A CNN correspondent was talking about a government lawyer’s legal argument in one of the many cases against the Trump administration. The correspondent opined that “he’s standing on shaky ice”. This is a congruent conflation of “on thin ice” and “on shaky ground”, both meaning to be in a precarious or risky position. This one is similar to a recent post – https://malaphors.com/2025/01/31/on-the-edge-of-very-thin-ice/ . Perhaps the speaker was thinking of a nice cocktail in the future.
Cheers to Tom Justice for hearing this one in his car and immediately sending it in!
CNN was interviewing Rufus Gifford, a former United States Ambassador to Denmark about the Vances’ trip to Greenland and he said Vance “thumbed the Greenlanders in the eye”. This is a congruent conflation of “thumbed their noses” and “poked them in the eye”, both a description of disrespect. Of course, a thumb in the eye would also hurt and be disrespectful. A tip of the hat to Paula Garrety who heard this one and sent it in.
This was noticed in a Facebook comment exchange. The commenter was talking about Trump and his control over the Department of Justice and the FBI and what he may do with these government agencies. This is a mashup of “rape the land” (destroy all the resources) and “bleed/suck/milk (something or someone) dry” (take all the resources that someone or something has available). There may also have been a Freudian slip in there. A big thanks to Diana Greenhalgh for spotting this one and sending it in!
On a conference call, federal employees were discussing how Trump’s executive orders would affect them. One of them uttered this mashup of “in the same boat” (in the same situation or sharing the same problem) and “in someone else’s shoes” (experiencing or seeing something from someone else’s point of view). This one reminds me of the 2017 Malaphor of the Year, “Welcome to my shoes”. https://malaphors.com/2017/01/02/welcome-to-my-shoes/
A big thanks to Katie Norwood for hearing this one!
At the Senate confirmation hearing for Secretary of Defense, Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) was defending nominee Pete Hegseth, admonishing the Democrats for grandstanding and what he viewed as hypocrisy. After citing a few examples, he exclaimed, “Gimme a joke!”
This is a beautiful congruent conflation of “gimme a break!” and “what a joke!”, both expressions used to exasperation or disbelief. Many thanks to Daniel and to Mike Kovacs for sending this one in promptly.
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