The kids don’t have to be rocket surgeons
Posted: February 2, 2013 Filed under: PEOPLE, rockets, surgeons, THINGS | Tags: blended idioms, brain surgeon, cnn, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, martin bashir, mixed idioms, rocket scientist, stacey campfield, wordplay, words 5 CommentsThis beauty was said by Tennessee State Senator Stacey Campfield on CNN last week. In response to Martin Bashir‘s question of why tying welfare benefits to children’s grades wouldn’t hurt the family overall, Sen. Campfield said, “the kids don’t have to be rocket surgeons.” This is a nice mash up of “brain surgeon” and “rocket scientist”. Thanks to Sam for finding this one replayed on the Jay Leno show! The exchange is in the link below:
It caught my mind
Posted: February 1, 2013 Filed under: BODY PARTS, mind | Tags: blended idioms, caught my eye, expressions, eye, humor, language, malaphors, mind, mixed idioms, wordplay, words Leave a commentI heard this one from Senator Jon Tester of Montana on the Bill Maher show this week. It is a mash up of “caught my eye” and I think “bring to mind”, both meaning to cause one to think of someone or something. The words mind and eye sound similar and are both located in the head, perhaps adding to the conflation. I like this one as it is subtle and still descriptive of the thought.
He is going squirrel crazy
Posted: January 31, 2013 Filed under: ANIMALS, squirrel | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, humor, malaphors, mixed idioms, squirrelly, squirrels, stir-crazy, wordplay, words Leave a commentI said this one today, referring to a friend who is in the hospital. It is a conflation of “stir-crazy” and “squirrelly”, both meaning being restless. I actually think this congruent malaphor describes a restless person better than the two phrases. After all, what can be more agitated than a crazy squirrel?
The time is ticking
Posted: January 27, 2013 Filed under: TIME | Tags: blended idioms, clock, clock is ticking, confirmation hearings, expressions, humor, John Kerry, malaphors, mixed idioms, TIME, time is coming, wordplay, words Leave a commentIn the recent confirmation hearings, Senator John Kerry noted that “the time is ticking” for Syrian President Bashar Assad:
“History caught up to us. That never happened. And it’s now moot, because he (Assad) has made a set of judgments that are inexcusable, that are reprehensible, and I think is not long for remaining as the head of state in Syria,” the senator said. “I think the time is ticking.”
http://news.yahoo.com/kerry-field-questions-panel-chairs-080523261.html
This is a mash up of “the clock is ticking” and “the time is coming” with maybe the clock on 60 minutes thrown in for good measure. Thanks to Yvonne for catching this one and passing it on!
Let’s take each one by ear
Posted: January 26, 2013 Filed under: BODY PARTS, ear | Tags: blended idioms, ear, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, play it by ear, wordplay, words Leave a commentAlison (check her blog at www.absolutely-write.co.uk ), a follower of this website, was drinking coffee in a neighborhood cafe, trying not to listen to the eager young man in a suit sitting behind her, who was talking loudly into his phone. As he was finishing up his conversation, he said “Yeah, well, let’s take each one by ear”. She correctly noted that the speaker was probably muddling up “let’s take each one as it comes” and “let’s play it by ear”. Thank you Alison for submitting this malaphor!
That’s been a pet dream of mine
Posted: January 23, 2013 Filed under: ANIMALS, dream, pet, THINGS | Tags: dream, expressions, humor, language, linguistics, malaphors, pet peeve, pet project, wet dream, wordplay, words Leave a commentThis curious statement, heard years ago in a meeting, is a mash up of several thoughts, I think. The speaker was trying to say “a dream” but was also probably thinking “pet project”. “Pipe dream” also comes to mind. One can’t ignore the possibility that “wet dream” as well as “pet peeve” were phrases floating in the subconscious (you had to know the guy). There may be a thin line between that exciting pet dream and a wet dream. Of course, I wouldn’t know…
The Thinking Man sculpture at Musée Rodin in Paris (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
And then everyone wonders why Europeans turn down their noses at Americans
Posted: January 18, 2013 Filed under: BODY PARTS, nose | Tags: blended idioms, expressions, humor, Jersey Shore, language, look down their nose at, malaphors, mixed idioms, nose, turn up their noses, wordplay, words Leave a comment“Turn down their noses” is a wonderful mash up of “turn up their noses” (sneer at someone) and “look down their noses at” (to see someone who is inferior or has no value). The confusion lies in “up” and “down” and “look” and “turn”. Maybe the nose has “turn down” service? Who knows? But it seems to be an incredibly popular malaphor given the thousands of google hits. The subject line above refers to the Jersey Shore phenomenon:
“The Jersey Shore kids are gross. Not Gross Baboons necessarily, just gross. They are so wrong in so many ways. Have you been to Florence? It is by far one of the most beautiful cities in the world. They needed to have a pack of steroid-ed gumbas trouncing around the Ponte Vecchio like I am going to the moon. Reports from Italy have the locals cringing from horror that this somehow represents Italians in the United States. And then everyone wonders why Europeans turn down their noses at Americans. The worst part is now that the Jersey Snore kids have terrorized Florence, Italians will equate ding-dong Guidos and Guidettes with the state of New Jersey.”
http://imeanwhat.com/tag/dj-pauly-d/
Here’s another good one:
Falvo’s Meats – Don’t get me wrong, I know there are a number of quality butcher shops in the area, but this place with its friendly service, fair prices and excellent products keeps me coming back time after time. I rely upon their advertisement in the Sunday TU for inspiration when planning the week’s meals and my boys turn down their noses at bacon that does not come from the Slingerland’s institution.
http://blog.timesunion.com/vinoteca/11-things-i-love-about-the-capital-district-part-1/5085/
It’s like shooting ducks in a barrel
Posted: January 16, 2013 Filed under: ACTION, ANIMALS, barrel, duck, shoot, THINGS | Tags: blended idioms, ducks, ducks all in a row, expressions, fish, malaphors, mixed idioms, shooting fish in a barrel, wordplay, words 2 CommentsThis is a mash up of “shooting fish in a barrel” (easy action with guaranteed success) and “all your ducks in a row” (getting everything in order), submitted by a loyal follower, the TruroTattler. Given the enormous amount of google hits, this is a common malaphor, as ducks appear to be as easy a target as fish. Also shooting mechanical ducks in a penny arcade shooting gallery is certainly playing on the mind in this one.
It takes a lot to take the air out of my sails
Posted: January 13, 2013 Filed under: sails, THINGS | Tags: air out of my tires, blended idioms, expressions, language, linguistics, malaphors, mixed idioms, sailst, tires, wind, wind out of my sails, wordplay, words Leave a commentThis was uttered by a guy who was frustrated by a spin class:
Maybe I Signed Up for Karaoke Instead of Spin by Accident?
It takes a lot to take the air out of my sails, but an unimpressive spin class will do that to me right quick. I actually felt bad that I’d made a friend come with me to this class because it was a pretty uninspiring way to spend 45 minutes. I have a limited amount of time to dedicate to my fitness regime: I don’t have time to ef around like this…
This is a mash up of “take the wind out of my sails” (feel less confident) and “let the air out of my tires” (make someone depressed). I think he meant the latter. See also a previous malaphor – “he took the thunder out of my sails”.
Malaphors 
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