Like “does the Pope shit in the woods?” or “that train has sailed?”
Also, what good examples can you think of?
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.
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lists that its a misnomer to call a farmer a peasant, which is not antithetical but more along the lines of being rude, out of date.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.
Cambridge lists ‘dry cleaning’ as an example, a process that involves liquid and is thus antithetical.
Ehhh…man, I dunno about that example, Cambridge. Like, wouldn’t sweeping involve cleaning something? Vacuuming?
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.
If you haven’t, you might want to read Patrick O’Brien’s Aubrey/Maturin series, or at least to peruse this list from Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/AubreyMaturinSeries/comments/4ak12q/which_its_a_prodigious_great_list_of_aubreys/
Maybe also egg corn?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=F12LSAbos7A&t=467s&pp=ygULTWFsYXByb3Bpc20%3D
We’ll drive off that bridge when we get to it
I can’t believe you got such a simple saying wrong. It’s not rocket surgery.
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…”
“Welp, I’m going to get hard at work”
Umm… Yeah, that TOTALLY never actually happens to me either.
A malapropism? Does that apply? 🤔
That’s like if you said “mute point” instead of “moot point.”
How the hell should I know, I’m not a rocket surgeon
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.
Or, taking a different perspective:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1433409/
Management of trauma and emergency surgery in space
As on Earth, the major determinant of emergency surgical care in spaceflight may be the presence or absence of a well-trained surgeon.
Sounds like they need a rocket surgeon!
Now, that one does have its place. I either it in an ironic sense that you dont need multiple degrees to do something. The flip side is that the people we send to space tend to be the most qualified people in multiple fields, a medical surgeon with a stem degree does not sound too far outside the realm of reason.
