You’ve heard of mixing your metaphors. Well, how about blending your idioms: That book was a real “page-burner.” Or  “I guess that’s how the cookie bounces.”

An idiom blend isn’t a mixed metaphor or a malapropism, exactly. It’s the union of two similar phrases to make a third phrase. For example:

Page turner + barn burner = page burner.

Or

That’s how the ball bounces + that’s how the cookie crumbles = that’s how the cookie bounces.

A man called Dave Farber compiled a list of these terms eponymously called Farberisms. Typists love these things and it’s this typist’s guess that those who look at typists’ blogs might also get kick.

We need to rein in our horns.

A problem swept under the table occasionally comes home to roost.

From here on up, it’s down hill all the way.

Don’t look a charlie horse in the mouth.

He’s cornered on all sides.

I don’t trust him farther than you can bat an eye.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, April 21st, 2007 at 1:33 pm and is filed under words. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.