This section of the webpage is a public forum intended to help users during the creative process. In addition to attempted
conflations, this page sometimes lists root expressions with no conflation, and even unpaired roots that are in need of an
appropriate match. To access the full dialogue for each posting, just click the conflation link in the far left column of
the table.
*by submitting a conflation below, you agree to grant full rights for its unrestricted use and reproduction*
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Conflation: |
Root Expressions: |
Most Recent Post: |
| “Uprage” | “Uproar” “Outrage” |
Harry Shearer on Le Show William, 11/14/08 |
| “You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can't tune a fish” | “You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friends' nose” “You can tune a piano, but you can't tune a fish.” |
Wow. Where did the 2nd root come from? Never heard of it. William, 10/21/08 |
| “The world's the limit” | “The world is your oyster.” “The sky's the limit.” |
Ross Karre, 10/17/08 |
| “Hold your fingers” | “Hold your breath” “Cross your fingers” |
Incongruent Daniel Shapira, 10/13/08 |
| “running off at the month” | “running off at the mouth” “wrong month” |
What you get - as I did below - when you're too tired to remember what month it is and should go to bed rather than post dumb comments on websites.
Don Don, 9/14/08 |
| “in a heartblink” | “in a heartbeat” “in the blink of an eye” |
It just sort of rolls off the tongue as a valid (?) expression.
Don, 8/13/08
How did William (below) post on the 15th when it's still the 13th..? Don, 9/14/08 |
| “add insult to the fire” | “insult to injury” “fuel to the fire” |
Glad you've got your ears open for this kind of thing. I invented this one artificially on my own - it's on the Congruent page. The fact that it's being used out there is some real vindication. William, 8/15/08 |
| “Pandora's Tinderbox” | “Pandora's Box” “Tinderbox” |
"The Caucasus region is a veritable Pandora's Tinderbox, much like the Balkans." Congruent conflation - a source of trouble that leads to explosive conflict. Looks like I wasn't the first to think of it as Google returned to hits for it. Ivan, 8/14/08 |
| “no welcome & your problem” | “no problem” “your welcome” |
It's funny - I've either heard this or said it myself. I love that either option is so completely opposite in character to the roots. Offering "no welcome" to someone seems hilariously rude. I've really got to get on top of the ball and clean up this workshop. I'll include this one in the main list... William, 8/14/08 |
| “rib-splitting/ side-tickling” | “side-splitting” “rib-tickling” |
very nice che-che. This'll have to go on the real list when I have a chance. William, 7/31/08 |
| “This isn't rocket surgery.” | “This isn't brain surgery.” “This isn't rocket science.” |
This is a true classic, but it's already posted on the main list. You're on the right track though... William, 7/30/08 |
| “Gauche pas.” | “Gauche.” “Faux pas.” |
a little clunky, but there it is. William, 7/27/08 |
| “more bounce for your buck” | “more bounce for your ounce” “more bang for your buck” |
jonathan, 7/22/08 |
| “more bounce for your buck” | “bounce for your ounce” “bang for your buck” |
sent from phone ross.karre, 7/22/08 |
| “Gunsbusters” | “Guns a' blazin'” “Gangbusters” |
! Chelsea, 6/30/08 |
| “Struck a bell.” | “Struck a chord.” “Rang a bell.” |
good. William, 6/30/08 |
| “Catch off” | “Catch on” “Take off” |
Referring to trends/memes/etc becoming popular. I caught myself saying this during a prof's office hours. jonathan, 6/6/08 |
| “Burning the midnight oil at both ends.” | “Burning the candle at both ends.” “Burning the midnight oil.” |
Chris Enright, 6/3/08 |
| “Fruit Case / Nut Cake” | “Fruit Cake” “Nut Case” |
To describe a lunatic Chris Enright, 6/3/08 |
| “Hits the Cherries On The Head” | “Hits The Nail On The Head” “Rings The Cherries” |
BloomingPouf, 5/27/08 |
| “Hold your powder.” | “Hold your fire.” “Keep your powder dry.” |
Excellent. I wish I could have heard that for myself on such a high profile broadcast. William, 5/16/08 |
| “For good's sake.” | “For good measure.” “For the sake of thoroughness.” |
In a recording session. Justin DeHart, 4/19/08 |
| “Your problem.” | “You're welcome.” “No problem.” |
Wonderful. There should be a special classification for conflations that result in a reversal of the meaning or spirit of the roots. I guess this sounds rude enough that people would notice, but it would be fun to try out. William, 4/16/08 |
| “A dime in the bucket” | “A dime a dozen.” “A drop in the bucket.” |
My first one... Mike Bennett, 3/22/08 |
| “Took to it like a fish to high water.” | “Took to it like a fish to water.” “Come hell or high water.” |
Janice Chen, 2/22/08 |
| “Nine yards shy of a hole in one” | “The whole nine yards” “One brick shy of a load” |
Yeah, I guess that qualifies as a triple conflation. It would be nice to obscure the "hole in one" root a bit though. william, 2/13/08 |
| “Burning the midnight candle ” | “burning the midnight oil” “burning the candle at both ends” |
Well, I was never totally satisfied with the wording on the old version anyway. This is kind of nice - like there's some special candle called the "midnight candle". Burning it sounds kind of ritualistic... William, 1/16/08 |
| “A crap in the dark.” | “A crap shoot.” “A shot in the dark.” |
! Ross Karre, 1/16/08 |
| “Don't blow a cow.” | “Don't have a cow.” “Don't blow a fuse.” |
No apology necessary. Thanks for reminding the MySQL database why it exists. William, 1/10/08 |
| “that train already flew the coop/that bird already left the station” | “that train has left the station” “that bird has flown the coop” |
thanks for the first international post. between the two, i think i prefer "that bird already left the station". say hello to johannes預nd that he needs to come play catan with us again. william, 1/5/08 |
| “Arm robbery.” | “Costs an arm and a leg.” “Highway robbery” |
I should have put this up a week ago. Ross Karre, 11/28/07 |
| “That'll put balls on your chest.” | “That'll put hair on your chest.” “That took balls.” |
oh...my...god. this proves that funny conflations are still waiting to be formed. the well has not gone dry. also - i'd like to point out that women already have balls on their chests. the conflation is much more inclusive than the roots. william, 11/25/07 |
| “Bites the Bucket” | “Bites the Dust” “Kicks the Bucket” |
thanks will. we've got a couple similar ones up, but not this exact combination. i've got to do some major organization sooner or later... william, 11/6/07 |
| “not my bag” | “bag” “my” |
an anonymous post...this requires some explanation. william, 10/29/07 |
| “Spreading like snowballs. ” | “Spreading like wild-fire. ” “Snowballing. ” |
if only it were snowballs... william, 10/27/07 |
| “From the ground-roots. ” | “From the ground up. ” “Grass-roots.” |
I see what you are saying, but I think they are a little more congruent than you are giving credit for. For example, if you want to be a grass roots political party, you definitely want to build your membership from the ground up; in fact, there is no other way for you to be 'grass roots'-- the two terms are almost identical. David Cecchetto, 10/23/07 |
| “Get the ropes down.” | “Learn the ropes.” “Get it down.” |
overheard in conversation today... william, 10/13/07 |
| “Take the carpe by the diem. ” | “Take the bull by the horns. ” “Carpe diem. ” |
this is not what i meant by "any comment is fine". william, 10/13/07 |
| “treading my wheels” | “treading water” “spinning my wheels” |
this is definitely very useful william, 10/10/07 |
| “wrench in the ointment” | “wrench in the gears” “fly in the ointment” |
Janice Chen, 10/10/07 |
| “Not my bag of tea.” | “Not my bag.” “Not my cup of tea.” |
I have hear "not my game" before, but I don't know about the bag... David Cecchetto, 10/7/07 |
| “Let the cat out of Pandora's Box.” | “Let the cat out of the bag.” “Open Pandora's Box.” |
Yes, William! "Let Pandora out of the box" is a modern day classic! David Cecchetto, 10/5/07 |
| “Cut Turkey.” | “Cut it off.” “Cold turkey.” |
Very nice, but I think the first root should simply be "Cut off" -- Kudos, regardless. David Cecchetto, 10/5/07 |
| “Off tangent.” | “Off topic.” “On a tangent.” |
Not sure if there's a better root than "off topic" available. David Cecchetto, 10/3/07 |
| “Know-it-pants.” | “Know-it-all.” “Smarty-pants.” |
! Chelsea, 9/14/07 |
| “It's greener on the fence.” | “The grass is greener.” “Sitting on the fence.” |
Yeah, i agree. I guess I just see a case for congruency in the context of use...not a strong case, but maybe a case nonetheless. David Cecchetto, 9/9/07 |
| “You call the judge.” | “You make the call.” “You be the judge.” |
This is an instant classic. I love the fact that it reverses the meaning of the root idioms. David Cecchetto, 8/26/07 |
| “I知 bushed out.” | “I知 bushed.” “I知 wiped out.” |
Always with the inuendo... David, 8/25/07 |
| “Step-tail it.” | “Step on it.” “High tail it.” |
thanks...this one should be useful. william, 8/15/07 |
| “Take the steam out of your sails.” | “Take the steam out of...” “Take the wind out of your sails.” |
there are already two "wind out of your sails" conflations on the congruent page, but i like this one too. it seems rather natural. jonathan, 8/23/07 |
| “Janus-tailed/snake-faced” | “Janus-face” “The snake biting its own tail. ” |
Yeah...maybe "snaking full circle" or "coming full tail" (which may not be suitable for children). David Cecchetto, 8/7/07 |
| “Blew my socks off” | “Knocked my socks off” “Blew my mind” |
Great job Dawn, I love it!
It does bear a striking resemblance to 的t値l blow your socks away" though, which do you like better? David Cecchetto, 7/18/07 |
| “There's too many hens in the kitchen” | “Too many cooks in the kitchen” “Too many hens in the henhouse (basket, or nest)” |
Kristin, 7/12/07 |
| “Earth numbing” | “Mind numbing” “Earth shattering” |
i have to take credit for this...ken might be the dutchess of greater catan eric, 7/3/07 |
| “Shake a move on.” | “Shake a leg.” “Get a move on.” |
yes william, 6/27/07 |
| “Hold your jets / Cool your horses” | “Cool your jets” “Hold your horses” |
'Cool your horses' is really a classic conflation; completely sensible, but meaning something entirely different than the way it would be used. Kudos. David Cecchetto, 6/27/07 |
| “Veri-dat.” | “Veritas” “True dat” |
The inclusion of ebonics is brilliant! I seem to remember "off the hook" being included in a previous conflation... Eric, 6/26/07 |
| “The Cat's New Clothes” | “The Cat's Meow” “The Emperor's New Clothes” |
Nice, but incongruent. David Cecchetto, 6/23/07 |
| “Work your hump off” | “Bust your hump” “Work your butt off” |
I think this is pretty clear Ken Blair, 6/21/07 |
| “A long shot in the dark” | “A long shot” “A shot in the dark” |
don't we have "a shot in the wild"? from "wild guess"? william, 6/19/07 |
| “I'm on hog nine” | “I'm in hog heaven” “I'm on cloud nine” |
While this one is good for the sake of thoroughness, I think 'like a pig in heaven' still rules this particular roost. David Cecchetto, 6/18/07 |
| “Don't eat the pooch” | “Don't eat s**t” “Don't screw the pooch” |
I had to look up the origin of "Don't screw the pooch"...it's actually another phrase attributed in part to Tom Wolfe...euphamism for "Don't f**k the dog" or "Don't f**k the b***h".
Apologies to any kids that might be listening. Eric, 6/9/07 |
| “No left turn unstoned” | “No left turn” “No stone left unturned” |
Ken Kesey's Merry pranksters appended the word "unstoned" (by magic marker) to a highway sign, as described in Tom Wolfe's "Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test." this is one of the best conflations ever, because the scrambling of the word order of root 2 derailed logical thinking and analysis of its meaning. That was the whole point of the Pranksters, in a nutshell: Break out of analysis paralysis. Roger Knights, 6/5/07 |
| “Think or thwim” | “Sink or Swim” “Think (IBM's official motto)” |
This one is mind-bending...I think I love it, especially for the particularity of its historical situation that is achieved through the nature of the recuperated idiom. David Cecchetto, 6/4/07 |
| “Don't toot (blow) your own whistle” | “Don't toot (blow) your own horn” “Whistle-blower” |
yep, both incongruent though. "don't blow your own whistle" could refer to someone who's overly proud of exposing internal wrongdoings. william, 5/31/07 |
| “Keep your panties on.” | “Don't get your panties in a twist.” “Keep your shirt on.” |
This is already in common use (unfortunately, for the side of decency). David Cecchetto, 5/25/07 |
| “Get your wagons in a row.” | “Circle the wagons.” “Get your ducks in a row.” |
Along the same lines, "Get your act in a row" or "get your ducks together" Chelsea, 4/10/07 |
| “My lips are tied.” | “My lips are sealed.” “Tongue-tied” |
When I read this, I thought first of "my hands are tied" rather than "tongue-tied." Though not necessarily congruent, I can think of a situation in which it would be congruent if it were "hands are tied" (and not if it were "tongue-tied")... as in, "I'd tell you the secret if I could, but I swore on my mother's grave that I wouldn't." In that case, your lips are sealed AND your hands are tied.
(also see the newer conflation Ross and I posted) Chelsea and Ross, 3/27/07 |
| “for Kicks and Giggles” | “Just for Kicks” “Shits and Giggles” |
Also: Shits and Kicks Ross Karre, 3/27/07 |
| “Screwed me under the bus.” | “Screwed me over.” “Threw me under the bus.” |
should this go up? i'm trying to clean up the workshop, so i put lots of the submissions here on the official pages. offer your final opinions on the rest of these. william, 3/24/07 |
| “On the kaputz.” | “On the fritz. ” “Kaput. ” |
this could actually be a great way to make the nuanced implication that a device with a history of being on the fritz is finally nearing total breakdown. william, 3/23/07 |
| “Tight vested” | “Tight lipped” “Playing your cards close to your vest” |
"Playing tight-lipped" seems like it works nicely. David Cecchetto, 3/21/07 |
| “Global-house gases.” | “Greenhouse gases.” “Global warming.” |
I can't believe I said this without meaning to. Neither could the person I was talking to. Anna Hostman, 2/6/07 |
| “Leaper beware/ Look before you buy” | “look before you leap” “buyer beware ” |
I think, in the right situation, I could accept these as congruent.
Fantastic. David Cecchetto, 1/1/07 |
| “Don't get your hackles in a dander!” | “Don't get your hackles up” “Don't get your dander up” |
so it is. i missed the "get your * in a *" syntax. william, 12/28/06 |