He’s walking on thin water
Posted: August 14, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: deep water, expressions, humor, malaphor, malaphors, walk on water, walking on thin ice, words 1 CommentThe speaker was talking about someone who needed to be careful. This is a mashup of “walking on thin ice” (to proceed with caution or great care) and I think “in deep water” (an overwheming situation) because of the context. However, “walk on water” (do something extraordinary or impossible) certainly should not be ruled out, as it is scrambled in the malaphor. A shout out to David Stephens who heard this one. David said that he recently slipped on a wet floor and broke his toe so this malaphor really resonated with him.
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I’m walking on ice with you
Posted: August 4, 2014 Filed under: eggs, FOOD | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, skating on thin ice, walking on eggshells, walking on thin ice, words 2 CommentsSounds like a song title, but it actually is a malaphor. The speaker meant to say eggshells instead of ice, and wound up mixing the phrases “walking on eggshells” (try very hard not to upset someone) and “walking (or skating) on thin ice”” (risky situation). The mix up is probably due to ice and eggshells both being easily breakable. Also, if you don’t walk on eggshells with a person who is upset you might be skating on thin ice! A big thank you to Paula Fow for sending this one in.
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