He will win on his Dad’s coat strings!
Posted: November 5, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Corey O'Connor, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, Pittsburgh, words Leave a commentThis one was a Facebook post. The poster was responding to Corey O’Connor’s bid for mayor of Pittsburgh. He is the son of former mayor Bob O’Connor. This is a blend of “on the coattails of (someone)” (benefiting from someone else’s success as a means to achieve one’s own success) and “play/tug on (one’s) heartstrings” (elicit strong feelings of sympathy or fondness). The poster may have been not only thinking of the mayor connection but also of Bob’s untimely death because of cancer cutting short his term in office as mayor. A big thanks to Dan Simon for spotting this one in the Facebook comments wild (by the way, Corey did win!).
Consumers tighten their wallets
Posted: November 1, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, Fox News, humor, Kayleigh McEnany, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, words Leave a commentFox News anchor Kayleigh McEnany was discussing rising grocery prices, and noted that budget meal Hamburger Helper was making a comeback. She said, “one tried and true brand is making a big comeback as consumers tighten their wallets – Hamburger Helper.” This is an incongruent conflation (mix of two idioms with opposite meanings) of “tighten (one’s) belt” (live more frugally) and “lighten (one’s) wallet” (spend money, usually more than expected). The similarly sounding words “lighten” and “tighten” may have played a role in the mix up. Here’s the quote:
A big thank you to Frank King for spotting this one and sending it in!
They don’t know their grain of salt
Posted: October 27, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, words 1 CommentThere was a discussion on Reddit about the hiring process of a research data specialist job and an exam to weed out those that don’t qualify. One reddit commenter posted: “It could also just be a test to weed out anyone who doesn’t know their grain of salt.” This is a triple mashup of “know their stuff” (have knowledge of a subject),” “worth their salt” (competent at the profession specified),” and “take it with a grain of salt” (be skeptical). A big thanks to Gabriel for spotting this one and sending it in!
The Steelers have too many players that are over their hill
Posted: October 24, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 93.7 the Fan, Andrew Fillipponi, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, words Leave a commentAndrew Fillipponi on Pittsburgh sports talk radio 93.7 The Fan was talking about the Steelers defense and said there are too many players that are “over their hill”. This is a congruent conflation of “over the hill” and “past their prime”, both meaning to be too old. A shout out to John Kooser for hearing this subtle malaphor and sending it in.
The sports world is such a treasure trove of malaphors, that I have devoted my next malaphor book to them entitled “Backseat Quarterback”. It will be published soon so get ready to buy that perfect stocking stuffer!
Rome wasn’t built overnight
Posted: October 20, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, words Leave a commentThis was spoken by a Walgreens pharmacy clerk after she was informed the doctor’s office had authorized the refill. It was the third time in a week that this was attempted to be straightened out, and after saying “something’s gotta give” and she uttered the aforesaid. This is a mashup of “Rome wasn’t built in a day” (significant accomplishments take time and effort) and “it didn’t happen overnight” (develop slowly over time with hard work). A big thanks to Tom Justice for hearing this one and sending it in.
George Washingtonhouse
Posted: October 17, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, Frick, humor, malaphors, Westinghouse, WORD BLENDS, words 1 CommentOn a tour of the Frick mansion (Clayton) in Pittsburgh, I overheard this single word blend from someone asking a question about George Westinghouse’s relationship with Frick. Instead of Westinghouse the person said Washingtonhouse, a blend of George Washington and George Westinghouse. I have posted a few word blends of people and places before. Favorites include Buckminster Palace, Wegners, Stormy McDaniels, and Strunk and Wagnalls. https://malaphors.com/2012/12/17/we-went-to-buckminster-palace/ https://malaphors.com/2022/08/17/wegners/ https://malaphors.com/2018/08/23/stormy-mcdaniels/ https://malaphors.com/2018/11/26/you-can-look-it-up-in-your-strunk-and-wagnalls/
Something they can dive their teeth into
Posted: October 4, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphors, Matt Donnelly, mixed idioms, Penn's Sunday School, words Leave a commentMagician, Comic, and Podcast host Matt Donnelly (Penn’s Sunday School) said this one on a recent episode when he was encouraging a guest to give more details on a story that he was telling. This is a congruent conflation of “dive in” and “sink (one’s) teeth into”, both meaning to undertake an endeavor energetically. A big shout out goes to Frozen Cusser for hearing this one and sending it in.
There’s a disturbance in the matrix
Posted: October 1, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: A disturbance in the force, blended idioms, expressions, humor, language, malaphors, The Matrix, words Leave a commentThis one was overheard in a conversation between a waitress and a customer. Perhaps one might overlook this jumbled phrase if one was not familiar with syfy, but our contributor, Dave Nemcsik recognized the malaphor. It is a mashup of “a disturbance in the Force” (said by Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: A New Hope) and “a glitch in the Matrix” (discussed in The Matrix). Kudos to Dave Nemcsik for hearing this one and sending it in!
Putin is in a tough pickle
Posted: September 29, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, pickle, Putin, Quora, words 1 CommentThis was spotted on Quora Digest:
“Putin is in a tough pickle. Technically, he cannot declare war on Ukraine to use the entire might of the Russian military. There is something about Russian laws and the people possibly going into revolution mode. It’s a bit weird, so he has been using his powers to conduct this never-ending three-day special military operation.” (22) Quora
This is a congruent conflation of “a tough spot” and “in a pickle”, both meaning to be in a difficult situation. The contributor said he looked up Russian and Ukrainian pickles, and they didn’t seem to be any tougher than other dill pickles. Good to know! Speaking of the contributor, a big thank you to frequent contributor Barry Eigen for spotting this gem.
On your moral high horse
Posted: September 27, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Buck Sexton, Clay Travis, expressions, humor, Jimmy Kimmel, language, malaphors, mixed idioms, words 1 CommentThis was heard on the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, 9/18/25, opening monologue. They were discussing the recent suspension of the Jimmy Kimmel Show, and opining that Hollywood is suddenly vocal that entertainment figures shouldn’t be canceled when they said nothing about the silencing of those they disagreed with. This is a mashup of “moral high ground” (status of being seen as ethically superior) and “on one’s high horse” (behaving in an arrogant or pompous way). In a way this is an incongruent conflation as the idioms seem to have opposite meanings, particularly in context. A big thanks to frequent contributor Verbatim for catching this one!
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