They have their backs up against the corner
Posted: September 27, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: back against the wall, back up, backed into a corner, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, Trumpnro, words, Yamiche Alcindor Leave a commentMSNBC commentator Yamiche Alcindor uttered this one when talking about the White House after Pelosi’s impeachment announcement. This is a near perfect congruent conflation of “backed into a corner” and “back to the wall”, both meaning to be in a high-pressure situation with no escape. “Back up” (to obstruct) might also be in the mix, given the recent news. A big thanks to David Stephens for hearing this one and passing it on!
Let’s wipe the band-aid clean
Posted: September 25, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, malaphor, malaphors, rip off the bandaid, wipe the slate clean, words Leave a commentThis was uttered regarding a customer situation and the speaker was trying to highlight the need to get valuable news to the customer. It is a mashup of “wipe the slate clean” (erase past mistakes) and “rip off the band-aid” (finish a task quickly to avoid a prolonged painful episode). Or maybe the speaker wanted to recycle a band-aid? A big thanks to John Hatfield III for hearing this one and sending it in.
Like this one? Then check out my book on malaphors, “He Smokes Like a Fish and other Malaphors”, available on Amazon.
It’s the passing of the guard
Posted: September 23, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 937 The Fan, changing of the guard, expressions, humor, malaphor, passing the torch, words 2 CommentsOn a local sports radio show called 93.7 The Fan, Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller, were discussing Mason Rudolph of the Steelers taking on the quarterback role from injured Ben Rothlisberger. This is a nice congruent conflation of “changing of the guard” and “passing the torch”, both meaning to pass responsibility to someone else. The flip side of this malaphor was posted on this website a few years ago, “Changing of the torch”. https://malaphors.com/2012/11/21/its-a-changing-of-the-torch/
A big thanks to John Kooser who heard this one and passed it on. John suggested I post a pic of a great passing guard, so here it is: John Stockton. @937theFan
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We’re seeing them close the wagons
Posted: September 20, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: circle the wagons, closing ranks, espn, expressions, humor, malaphor, malaphors, Michele Steele, NPR Weekend Edition, words Leave a commentThis one was spoken by ESPN’s Michele Steele on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday. She was discussing the horse racing drug scandal involving the Kentucky Derby winner, Justify. Here’s the transcript: https://www.npr.org/2019/09/14/760780871/saturday-sports-horse-racing-antonio-brown.
This is a nice congruent conflation of “closing ranks” and “circling the wagons”, both meaning to become defensive. A big thanks to Martin Pietrucha for hearing this one and striking malaphor gold! @ESPNMichele
The Democrat Party is literally groveling at the mouth
Posted: September 18, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Daily Caller, expressions, foaming at the mouth, groveling in, humor, malaphor, malaphors, words Leave a commentThis one comes from the Daily Caller. It is a mashup of “foaming at the mouth” (extremely angry) and “groveling in (something)” (to interact with someone in an overtly agreeable manner). So did the writer mean that the Party was angry or overtly agreeable? My guess it was the former. As an aside, this is also another example of using the word “literally” incorrectly. If it’s literal, then it happens. A big thanks to Ralph Aikman for spotting this one.
They are not out of the clear
Posted: September 16, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: cnn, Dorian, expressions, humor, in the clear, James Joseph, malaphor, malaphors, out of danger, out of the woods, words Leave a commentJames Joseph, senior FEMA administrator, on CNN, told people in Florida not to ignore warnings and think themselves safe from the effects of the oncoming hurricane Dorian. It’s a congruent conflation of “out of the woods” and “in the clear”, both meaning to be free of danger. Perhaps the speaker was thinking of a clearing in the woods. “Out of danger”, also meaning to be free of danger, might also be in the mix. A big thanks to “my ol’ pal” Beatrice Zablocki for hearing this one.
I’m biting at the dust
Posted: September 9, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bite the dust, biting my nails, champing at the bit, expressions, humor, malaphor, malaphors, words Leave a commentThe speaker was nervously anticipating something. This is a three-fer mashup I think. “Champing at the bit” and “biting my nails” both meaning to anxiously await something, are clearly in the mix, and also “bites the dust” (to die) is in there. Perhaps the anticipation was so exciting that she thought she was going to die? In any event, a big thanks to Katie Mroczek for uttering this one and sending it on, with the help of Anthony Kovacs.
Let’s put this horse to bed
Posted: September 4, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: horse, humor, language, malaphors, put a horse out to pasture, put it to bed, words Leave a commentThe speaker and his co-worker were talking about a situation that they didn’t need to talk about anymore. In order to signal it was time to wrap things up the speaker said “Let’s put this horse to bed.” This is a nice congruent conflation of “put (something) to bed” and “put a horse out to pasture”, meaning to finish or retire something. Perhaps the speaker dredged up in his mind the Godfather scene with the horse head in bed. That certainly finalized things. A big thanks to Joel for actually unintentionally uttering this one and sending it in.
Some people live a long time even though they smoke like a haystack
Posted: August 31, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, malaphor, needle in a haystack, smokes like a chimney, words Leave a commentThis one was uttered by Joe Starkey, a local sports radio commentator. It is a mashup of “smokes like a chimney” (smokes continually) and “needle in a haystack” (something that is very difficult to locate). My guess is that the speaker was thinking of “smokestack” and “haystack” bubbled to the surface. Also, haystacks give off a lot of smoke when burned. This one reminds me of the title of my malaphor book, “He Smokes Like a Fish and other Malaphors”, available on Amazon for a mere $7.99! A big thanks to John Kooser for hearing this one.
The President is having to deal with a den of vipers
Posted: August 28, 2019 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: den of iniquity, den of thieves, expressions, humor, malaphor, malaphors, nest of vipers, walking into the lions' den, words Leave a commentThis one was uttered by an evangelical Trump supporter. It is a congruent conflation of “a nest of vipers” and “a den of thieves”, both meaning a group of individuals suspected of underhanded dealings. “Den of iniquity” (a lot of immoral things happen there) might be in the mix, but I doubt it. “Waliking into the lions’ den” (place yourself in a dangerous situation) certainly is in play given the context and its Biblical roots. Here is the article where the malaphor is found: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/08/14/evangelicals-view-trump-their-protector-will-they-stand-by-him/?wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1
A big thanks to Barry Eigen for spotting this one!
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