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Spoonerism
- A ‘spoonerism’ is when a speaker accidentally mixes up the initial sounds or letters of two words in a phrase. The result is usually humorous.
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Nov 10, 2023 · A ‘spoonerism’ is when a speaker accidentally mixes up the initial sounds or letters of two words in a phrase. The result is usually humorous. Examples of spoonerisms include: ‘blushing crow’ (instead of ‘crushing blow’) ‘hair bug’ (instead of ‘bear hug’) ‘flock of bats’ (instead of ‘block of flats’) ‘by mad’ (instead of ‘my bad’)
Jun 12, 2021 · confuse (v.) If you confuse two things, you get them mixed up, so that you think one of them is the other one. I always confuse my left with my right. Collins. To mix up in the mind, to fail to distinguish, erroneously regard as identical, mistake one for another.
Conflate is a more formal way to say "mix together," and it's typically used for texts or ideas. You probably wouldn't say you conflated the ingredients for a cake, but if you blended two different stories together to make a new one, conflate would work.
- Burning the Midnight Oil From Both Ends. “I’m so stressed that I’m burning the midnight oil from both ends.” This is a mixup of the two idioms, “burning the midnight oil” and “burning the candle at both ends.”
- Heavy Is the Goose That Lays the Golden Egg. “George just got promoted to management, I hope he’s ready for it. Heavy is the goose that lays the golden egg.”
- Walking a Thin Line. “That decision seems a little risky! He’s walking a thin line.” This malaphor is a combination of “walking on thin ice” and “walking a fine line.”
- I Can Read Him Like the Back of My Book. “He couldn’t hide anything from me. I can read him like the back of my book!” This malaphor mixes up two very common idioms: “know him like the back of my hand” and “read him like a book.”
Aug 2, 2024 · A malaphor is an informal term for a mixture of two aphorisms, idioms, or clichés (such as, "We'll burn that bridge when we come to it"). It is also called an idiom blend. The term malaphor —a blend of malapropism and metaphor —was coined by Lawrence Harrison in the Washington Post article "Searching for Malaphors" (August 6, 1976).
If you accidentally switch two people’s names when introducing them, you have mixed them up. If you add salt instead of sugar to your baking recipe by mistake, you have mixed up the ingredients. If someone gives you incorrect directions and you end up getting lost, they have mixed you up.
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Nov 13, 2019 · If you are mixed up about something, it means that you are confused. “Whenever we change the clocks for daylight savings time, I get mixed up and can’t figure out what time it is.” “I’m a little mixed up. Is our meeting on Thursday or Friday?” Mixed up can also mean to
