I can do a pre-hearing statement off the fly
Posted: January 18, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: congruent conflation, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, off the cuff, on the fly, words Leave a commentThis beauty was spoken by a confident attorney prior to a hearing. It is a congruent conflation of “on the fly” and “off the cuff”, both meaning to do something quickly and without thinking carefully before they do it. Mixing “on” and “off” is certainly a part of this malaphor, and perhaps “fly” and “cuff”, as both can be articles of clothing? Using “off” instead of “on” actually makes more sense as an airplane “flies off” to somewhere. “Fly off” means to go in a hurry, similar to the meaning of this malaphor. The speaker perhaps just inverted the words “fly” and “off”. A big thanks to Sam Edelmann for hearing his one and passing it along.
Stick with your guts and get it done
Posted: January 15, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, go with your gut, humor, John Kasich, language, malaphor, malaphors, stick to your guns, stick to your ribs, words Leave a commentThis one is hot off the press, having been uttered in last night’s GOP debate by Governor John Kasich. It is a mash up of “stick to your guns” (remain firm in your convictions) and “go with your gut” (trust your feelings when making a decision). The similar sounding words “guts” and “guns” probably contributed to the confusion. Also food sometimes “sticks to your ribs” and so stick and guts might seem to go together. A big thanks to Steve Grieme for hearing this one and passing it on in real Malaphor time.
It hit me like a brick wall
Posted: January 11, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, hit a wall, hit me like a ton of bricks, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, words 1 CommentThe speaker was talking about how difficult a final exam was. Given the context, this is a mash up of “hit me like a ton of bricks” (to surprise or shock someone) and “hit a wall” (coming up against an insurmountable obstacle). The exam must have been difficult and a surprise! The confusion is obvious: both expressions contain the word “hit” and certainly walls can be made of bricks. The expression “hit a wall” is also sometimes stated “hit a brick wall”, making the two expressions have even more commonality. Perhaps the speaker is a Pink Floyd fan as well. A big thanks to Adam Jacob for hearing this one and passing it on.
Watch my words
Posted: January 7, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, mark my words, read my lips, watch my lips, words 1 CommentBoomer Esiason said this one on the NFL pre-game show last week. It is a nice congruent conflation of “mark my words” and “read (or watch) my lips”, both meaning to pay attention or listen very carefully. This is similar to last February’s malaphor, “read my words”, involving the same mash-up. https://malaphors.com/2015/02/13/read-my-words-houston-does-not-get-out-of-the-first-round-this-year/. Both malaphors harken back to the George H.W. Bush era – “Read my lips. No new taxes.” A big thanks to that frequent malaphor contributor Steve Grieme!
You’re pretty well-grounded
Posted: January 5, 2016 Filed under: WORD BLENDS | Tags: expressions, grounded, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, well-rounded, words 2 CommentsThis a nice malaphor word blend of “grounded” (sensible) and “well-rounded” (having desirably varied abilities). Perhaps the speaker meant to meld the two meanings into a new word, but probably just mixed rounded and grounded, which is easy to do. A big thanks to my cousins from Down Under, Manny Manatakis for uttering this gem and Gemma Martinez for hearing it and passing it on.
Something really struck out.
Posted: December 29, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, struck me, stuck out, words Leave a comment
The RNC has to thread the line carefully when dealing with Trump
Posted: December 15, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Donald Trump, expressions, humor, Katy Tur, language, malaphor, malaphors, MSNBC, RNC, thread the needle, walk a fine line, words Leave a commentThis gem was overheard on MSNBC. Correspondent Katy Tur was commenting on the Republican National Committee (RNC) walking a tight rope with respect to Donald Trump, and ended by uttering this malaphor. It is a congruent conflation of “thread the needle” and “walk a fine line”, both meaning to strike a balance between conflicting or different forces. Perhaps she was thinking of threading a fishing line? A big thank you to Louis Mande for hearing this one and passing it along.
We are only seeing one side of this iceberg
Posted: December 13, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: dark side, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, tip of the iceberg, words Leave a commentMarykathryn has done it again. She was discussing a very contentious legal case with her husband. The more they dug the more they found out about their client. She finally turned to her husband and said, ” Honey, we are only seeing one side of this iceberg”. This is a mash up of “the tip of the iceberg” (a small part of something much larger) and I think “the dark side (of someone)” (the negative and hidden aspect of someone), given the context. This is the second malaphor referring to icebergs. See “we’ve barely scratched the tip of the iceberg” (9/19/13). https://malaphors.com/2013/01/19/we-barely-scratched-the-tip-of-the-iceberg/ A big thank you to Marykathryn Kopec who keeps giving me material!
You’re not the brightest toolbox in the shed
Posted: December 7, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, not the brightest, not the sharpest knife in the drawer, not the sharpest tool in the shed, words Leave a commentWhile talking to his cat (everyone does that, right?), malaphor follower Ian told him “You’re not the brightest toolbox in the shed.” As usual, I’m sure Ian’s cat looked at him like HE was the idiot. This is a triple congruent conflation of “not the sharpest tool in the shed”, “not the sharpest (or brightest) crayon in the box”, and “not the brightest bulb in the chandelier (or “not the brightest”), all meaning someone who is not very intelligent. Other similar idioms include “not the sharpest knife in the drawer”, “he’s one fry short of a Happy Meal”, “the elevator doesn’t go to the top floor”, and my personal favorite, “somewhere there’s a village missing its idiot”.
Finally, this malaphor is similar to my June 24, 2013 posting, “not the brightest tool in the shed”. https://malaphors.com/2013/06/24/not-the-brightest-tool-in-the-shed/ Thanks to Ian for sending this one in!
That train has sailed
Posted: November 13, 2015 Filed under: ACTION, sail, train, Uncategorized | Tags: Austin Powers, congruent conflation, expressions, humor, language, malaphor, malaphors, that ship has sailed, that train has left the station, words 1 CommentThis is a congruent conflation of “that ship has sailed” and “that train has left the station”, both meaning the act has already been done. It was said by Austin Powers in the movie Austin Powers, International Man of Mystery, when he was speaking to a drunk Vanessa:
She was very groovy.
Your dad loved her very much.
If there was one other cat in this world that could have loved her and treated her as well as your dad then it was me.
But unfortunately for yours truly that train has sailed.
Vanessa?
Vanessa? Hello?
A big thanks to Sam Edelmann for hearing this one. Oh behave!
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