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Bittersweet’ or ‘jumbo shrimp
- What are Mixed Message Idioms? Unlike regular idioms, mixed message idioms combine words that seemingly contradict each other. For example, ‘bittersweet’ or ‘jumbo shrimp’. These idioms create a vivid image in our minds and often convey complex emotions or situations in a concise manner.
englishteststore.net/lesson/english-idioms/mixed-message-idiom-meaning-and-example-usage-in-sentences/Mixed Message Idiom – Meaning and Example Usage in Sentences
- 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.”
- Examples
- Metaphors and Malaphors
- Examples from Richard Lederer
The following are some examples of malaphors. 1. Blends at the phrase level: "You hit the nail right on the nose." (A combination of "You hit the nail right on the head" and "That’s right on the nose.”) "She really stuck her neck out on a limb." ("Stuck her neck out" and "went out on a limb") . . . "I can’t make these split-minute decisions." (spli...
Below, find some malaphors that areclose, mixed-up cousins of mixed metaphors. 1. "Malaphors aren't quite malapropisms and aren't quite mixed metaphors but the best are as memorable as either. Whatever you want to call these, I hope you'll agree: each one is a pearl worth its weight in gold. - I can read him like the back of my book. - The sacred c...
Have fun with these "accidental assaults" on the English language according to Richard Lederer. 1. It's time to swallow the bullet. It's as easy as falling off a piece of cake. Let dead dogs sleep. That guy's out to butter his own nest. He's between a rock and the deep blue sea. (Richard Lederer, Anguished English: An Anthology of Accidental Assaul...
- Richard Nordquist
May 20, 2022 · But just as that door swings shut, you wonder “Was that the right way to say it?”. Nope, it’s definitely not the right way to say it. You’ve mixed up “let sleeping dogs lie” and “beating a dead horse,” and now your perfect comeback is a messy malaphor — also known as a mixed metaphor or proverb. Oops.
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- Senior Writer
- mixed up (adj.) , mix-up (n.) 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.”
- to be all Greek to someone. To be all Greek to someone is an expression we use to explain that someone doesn’t understand anything, usually because the topic is beyond their comprehension.
- clear as mud. If something is clear as mud, it means that it is very confusing and hard to understand. “The assembly instructions that came with this bookshelf are clear as mud.
- to throw someone off/to be thrown off. If something throws you off, it confuses you or causes you to lose your concentration, get something wrong, or be misled.
Aug 17, 2024 · Let’s dive into some examples of mixed message idioms. Take ‘dark horse’, for instance. While it might conjure up an image of a horse in the dark, it actually refers to a person who unexpectedly achieves success. Similarly, ‘open secret’ implies something that is widely known but not officially acknowledged.
A blend of malaproprism and metaphor, coined by Lawrence Harrison in the Washington Post article "Searching for Malaphors" (Aug. 6, 1976) Wiktionary has your exact example. Examples include "hitting the nail on the thumb", "barking up the wrong alley" and "We'll burn that bridge when we come to it". Share.
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The lessons start by showing you examples of idioms in sentences, and you’ll try to guess what they mean from the context. Then, you can watch a video where I teach the idioms’ meanings. Next, try a quiz to see how well you remember the idiomatic expressions.
