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Like "does the Pope shit in the woods?" or "that train has sailed?"

Also, what good examples can you think of?

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[–] [email protected] 96 points 1 month ago (3 children)
[–] [email protected] 40 points 1 month ago (2 children)

See also as related:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondegreen

A mondegreen (/ˈmɒndɪˌɡriːn/ ⓘ) is a mishearing or misinterpretation of a phrase in a way that gives it a new meaning.[1] Mondegreens are most often created by a person listening to a poem or a song; the listener, being unable to hear a lyric clearly, substitutes words that sound similar and make some kind of sense.[2][3] The American writer Sylvia Wright coined the term in 1954, recalling a childhood memory of her mother reading the Scottish ballad "The Bonnie Earl o' Moray", and mishearing the words "laid him on the green" as "Lady Mondegreen".

and

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malapropism

A malapropism (/ˈmæləprɒpɪzəm/; also called a malaprop, acyrologia, or Dogberryism) is the incorrect use of a word in place of a word with a similar sound, either unintentionally or for comedic effect, resulting in a nonsensical, often humorous utterance. An example is the statement attributed to baseball player Yogi Berra, regarding switch hitters, "He hits from both sides of the plate. He's amphibious",[1] with the accidental use of amphibious rather than the intended ambidextrous. Malapropisms often occur as errors in natural speech and are sometimes the subject of media attention, especially when made by politicians or other prominent individuals.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (9 children)

Though this is not for idiomatic phrases, there's also misnomer, for when something is named in a misleading or inappropriate manner.

Though, different dictionaries seem to give different scope to what can and cannot be considered a misnomer, and others place different emphasis on precisely how the name is wrong qualifies it as a misnomer.

Cambridge lists 'dry cleaning' as an example, a process that involves liquid and is thus antithetical.

The focus is on something being named such that the obvious, plain reading of it implies the precise opposite.

Merriam Webster lists that its a misnomer to call a farmer a peasant, which is not antithetical but more along the lines of being rude, out of date.

Their conception of it is fairly broad: any name that is inaccurate for basically any reason, or even just a word that has offensive connotations due to inaccuracy.

Dictionary.com uses the examples of Chinese Checkers, a funny bone, and hay fever.

They focus the definition on the factual/historical inaccuracy of the term:

Chinese Checkers did not originate in China, a funny bone is actually a nerve, not a bone, and hay fever is not caused by hay, nor is it a fever.

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[–] jakemehoff11 18 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Good pull. Malapropism has always been one of my favorite words and comedic devices, so this is good info. Bravo!

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go read an article about the Women's Lubrication movement and eat my hot astronomy on rye.

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[–] [email protected] 58 points 1 month ago (4 children)

We'll drive off that bridge when we get to it

[–] [email protected] 69 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I usually go with “We’ll burn that bridge when we get to it”

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[–] billiam0202 34 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I can't believe you got such a simple saying wrong. It's not rocket surgery.

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 month ago

I like "we'll burn that bridge when we come to it"

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[–] Gingerlegs 38 points 1 month ago (4 children)

My buddy and I have a whole list of these…I started calling them masonism’s because he messes them up so often lol

“I don’t give a shit if he wrote the Mona Lisa!”

“I’m not attached to my hip!”

“I’m taking my own life…into my own hands!”

“How’s that for apples?”

“There’s not enough meat to play with”

“That’s a hit…and a miss!”

“If it weighs anything to you….”

“Jesus Christ! That’s slave robbery!

“Welp, I’m going to get hard at work”

“I’m making shit up out of my ass.”

“He was flopping back and forth” (flip flopping)

“I’m going to go tell this kid a piece of my mind…”

“Oh, here you go….you’re going to piss on my parade!”

“Don’t count your chickens before they turn into eggs.”

“Well isn’t that the horse calling the kettle black”

“Does a fat kid shit in the woods?”

“I can sleep through a rock!”

Ibanez AZ series guitars? Yea I know them like they’re in the back of my hand…”

“There’s a lot of onions to that…”

“I’m pulling it off my head”

“Knock the balls off!

-knock it out of the park/socks off

“That’s a double sided sword!”

 

“You can’t lead a horse to fish…”

[–] ChonkyOwlbear 16 points 1 month ago

“Well isn’t that the horse calling the kettle black”

I love this.

[–] Rhynoplaz 9 points 1 month ago (2 children)

“Welp, I’m going to get hard at work”

Umm... Yeah, that TOTALLY never actually happens to me either.

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[–] Bahnd 8 points 1 month ago

Im stealing these.

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[–] [email protected] 35 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

A malapropism? Does that apply? 🤔

That's like if you said "mute point" instead of "moot point."

[–] TropicalDingdong 13 points 1 month ago (3 children)

moo point.

you know, the kind of thing a cow would say.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

How you mooin'? 😎

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[–] [email protected] 33 points 1 month ago (3 children)

How the hell should I know, I’m not a rocket surgeon

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 month ago (2 children)
[–] gedaliyah 7 points 1 month ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Arguably, a mechanic who is literally performing maintenance on exceptionally mechanically dense and complex parts of a rocket, say the rocket engine plumbing or wiring harnesses... is figuratively performing rocket surgery.

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[–] Rhynoplaz 27 points 1 month ago (2 children)
[–] Postmortal_Pop 12 points 1 month ago

You could and you should!

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[–] distantsounds 22 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Get two birds stoned at once

[–] Postmortal_Pop 7 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I like, "get two birds stoned with one bush" as some bastard amalgamation of "kill two birds with one stone" and "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush"

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 month ago (5 children)

"It's not rocket surgery."

This one irks me. Combination of "rocket scientist" and "brain surgery".

[–] Donebrach 12 points 1 month ago

Nothing holds a bar to this as being my favorites, but I generally don’t pay much mind to idioms—they’re all water under a duck’s back.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago

I'm personally a fan of "it's not rocket appliances"

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 month ago (1 children)
  • The grass is always greener in the hand.
  • You can lead a horse to water, but you can't look it in its mouth.
  • We'll burn that bridge when we come to it.
  • Caught with his pants in the cookie jar.
[–] Klear 5 points 1 month ago

That last one... goddamn, that's amazing.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 month ago (3 children)

"Not the brightest cookie in the crayon box" is an amalgamation of 3 different sayings I've been trying to make happen. It won't happen.

[–] davidgro 7 points 1 month ago

My mom was fond of "Not the brightest egg in the drawer".

[–] gedaliyah 5 points 1 month ago

I used to say not the sharpest cookie in the jar

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[–] cabron_offsets 12 points 1 month ago

One of my standbys is “that horse has sailed”.

[–] thenextguy 11 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I'm running around like a chicken with its legs cut off.

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[–] bitchkat 11 points 1 month ago

It's not rocket surgery.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 month ago

It's often called an eggcorn, and here's a really good video that touches on it: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JTslqcXsFd4&pp=ygUMRWdnY29ybiBlcmlr

The weirdest one I used to hear often was "for all intensive purposes," like wtf is an intensive purpose?

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 month ago

The correct term is Rickyism

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 month ago (1 children)

"The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb." Meaning contracts, friendships, and keeping promises should take priority over family loyalty.

Now changed to "Blood is thicker than water" and means the exact opposite of the original.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago

Does a bear shit in the Pope’s hat?

[–] ThePantser 8 points 1 month ago

People in glass houses shouldn't get stoned

[–] kikutwo 7 points 1 month ago

"I'm lost for words"

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago

I like ‘bob’s your oyster’ because both original phrases are nonsensical to me. Is there a word isometric to portmanteau but for phrases / idioms?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Not the brightest bulb in the shed

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago

In a similar vein, "not the sharpest spoon in the drawer"

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