That will bring some skeletons crawling out of the woodwork
Posted: February 17, 2014 Filed under: closet, crawl, woodwork | Tags: blended idioms, closet, crawling out of the woodwork, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mixed idioms, skeletons, skeletons in the closet, woodwork, words 1 CommentThis is a delightful mixture of “skeletons in the closet” (secrets) and “crawling out of the woodwork” (secrets coming out in the open). The confusion lies in the two phrases referring to secrets and exposing them. I heard this in a conversation but I cannot reveal the source as I was sworn to secrecy. We can’t have these malaphors crawling out of the woodwork, can we?
Throw it out of the woodwork
Posted: August 23, 2012 Filed under: ACTION, PLACES, THINGS | Tags: blended idioms, crawl, expressions, malaphors, mixed idioms, woodwork, words Leave a commentI had to enlist my “ol’ pal” to sort this one out. She states that “crawled out of the woodwork” means something hidden came to light unexpectedly (like a cockroach or anything/anyone unwelcome). “Thrown out for discussion” represents ideas that have to be considered by the group before a decision can be reached. “Throw it out of the woodwork” seems to indicate forcing something hidden into the light of day, something that must be revealed. I think she has hit the nail on the jackpot with this one.
Malaphors 
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