Giuliani blew his lid on that
Posted: January 19, 2020 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: blew his stack, expressions, flipped his lid, humor, language, Lev Parnas, malaphor, Rachel Maddow, Trump, words Leave a commentThis one was uttered by Lev Parnas, Rudy Giuliani’s assistant in the Rachel Maddow interview. Here it is:
Lev was describing Giuliani’s reaction to hearing Ukranian President Zelensky’s decision not to announce an investifation specifically mentioning Joe Biden’s name. It is a nice congruent conflation of ” “flipped his lid” and “blew his top/stack”, both meaning to become extremely angry or mad. A huge thanks to Mike Kovacs for hearing this one and sending it in.
It’s a bunch of humbo jumbo
Posted: December 16, 2019 Filed under: WORD BLENDS | Tags: expressions, humbug, humor, language, malaphor, mumbo jumbo, Trump, words Leave a commentSomeone was referring to the Repbulicans’ defense in the Trump impeachment hearings. This is a nice word blend of “humbug” (deceptive or false talk) and “mumbo jumbo” (intended to cause confusion). Both expressions refer to misleading someone. Maybe it’s a new expression, meaning deceptive talk meant to confuse? A big thanks to John Kooser who overheard this one.
I was elected to “Clean the Swamp”
Posted: December 15, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: clean house, drain the swamp, expressions, humor, idioms, malaphor, malaphors, Trump, words Leave a commentThis was uttered by President Trump in a December 5, 2019 tweet. Here it is:
..trial in the Senate, and so that our Country can get back to business. We will have Schiff, the Bidens, Pelosi and many more testify, and will reveal, for the first time, how corrupt our system really is. I was elected to “Clean the Swamp,” and that’s what I am doing!
Trump’s mantra has always been “drain the swamp”, so I believe this is a malaphor, conflating “drain the swamp” with “clean house”, both meaning to wipe out corruption or inefficiency. A big thanks to Sandor Kovacs for spotting this one and sending it in.
Trump walked in like an elephant in a china shop
Posted: December 9, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bull in a china shop, elephant in the room, expressions, humor, malaphor, malaphors, Morning Joe, Trump, words 4 CommentsNicole Wallace on Morning Joe uttered this nice malaphor. It is a mashup of “bull in a china shop” (one who is aggressive and clumsy in a situation that requires care and delicacy) and “the elephant in the room” (an obvious truth or fact that is being intentionally ignored or left unaddressed). Not sure what would cause more damage in a china shop – a bull or an elephant? By the way, elephants are a common source of malaphors: just type the word “elephant” in the search engine on my website and you will find a treasure trove of elephant malaphors. a big thanks to Donna Calvert for hearing this one and passing it on.
Want to see more elephant malaphors? Chedk out my book, “He Smokes Like a Fish and other malaphors” and see a whole chapter devoted to pachyderm mashups. Available on Amazon for a cheap $7.99.
The Republicans run cover for Trump
Posted: December 5, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Charlie Sykes, give cover, Hardball, humor, language, malaphor, MSNBC, run point, Trump Leave a commentPolitical pundit Charlie Sykes uttered this one on MSNBC’s Hardball (hosted by the Malaphor King, Chris Matthews – see website for the many contributions). This is a mashup of “run point” (take the lead) and “give cover” (protect from attack). Perhaps Mr. Sykes was thinking (or hoping) about “running for cover”, but there is no indication any Republican is doing that at this point. A big thanks to Frank King for hearing this one and sharing it.
The doors are closing in
Posted: November 16, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: doors are closing, Gregory Meeks, humor, idioms, language, malaphors, The Last Word, Trump, walls are closing in Leave a comment
Quid pro quo is one of these things to muddy the works
Posted: November 11, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, gum up the works, humor, Jim Himes, language, malaphor, malaphors, Meet the Press, muddy the waters, Trump, words Leave a commentThis gem was uttered by Congressman Jim Himes (D-CT) yesterday on Meet the Press, talking about the Trump impeachment inquiry. It is a mashup of “muddy the waters” (to make a situation less clear) and “gum up the works” (to interfere with the proper functioning of something). Both expressions refer to degrading something, and “works” and “waters” might have been jumbled by the phrase “water works”? A big shout out to Bruce Ryan who heard this one and passed it on. @jahimes @MeetThePress
You can hear this malaphor just about at the beginning of the video:
The top kahuna, Donald Trump
Posted: November 7, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: big kahuna, humor, language, malaphor, Nick Akerman, top dog, Trump Leave a comment
Get them off the stick AND on their back heel
Posted: September 2, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: flat on my back, get on the stick off the dime, Jennifer Rubin, MSNBC, on my heels, Trump 1 CommentThat’s right, a malaphor two-fer, from the lips of Jennifer Rubin, heard on MSNBC the other night. Here is what she said:
On Republicans, “how many points will the Dow have to drop to …get them off the stick?” This is a nice congruent conflation of “get on the stick” and “get off the dime”, both meaning to organize oneself and start preparing for something.
On Trump’s opponents, “he’s always thrived on chaos, …he thinks it puts his opponents on their back heel.” This is a mashup of “back on his heels” (to put into a state of unease or surprise) and “flat on (one’s) back” (lacking the strength to get up).
A big, big thanks to Frank King for hearing these gems and passing them on!
It’s not number one on the burner
Posted: August 21, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, malaphor, malaphors, not number one on the list, not on the front burner, Trump, words Leave a commentThe Malaphorer in Chief, Donald Trump, uttered this beauty when he was discussing his idea to purchase Greenland. “It’s not number one on the burner, I can tell you that.” This is a congruent conflation of “not number one on the list” and “not on the front burner”, both meaning not a high priority. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/kudlow-says-white-house-is-looking-at-trying-to-buy-greenland/2019/08/18/ab367b6c-c1bb-11e9-b5e4-54aa56d5b7ce_story.html.
This one was heard by several loyal malaphor followers, including Barry Eigen, Donna Calvert, and Frank King. This Trump malaphor is not the first. Check my book out, “He Smokes Like a Fish and other Malaphors” (available on Amazon) for more mashups from him. There are also many more on this blog. Search “Trump”.
Malaphors 
Recent Comments