Sayings that get muddled

Perhaps people are mixing up their metaphors to make them more relevant to their thinking.

A student on the news revered to her generational as ' staked goats' rather than 'scape goats'. May make sense in the light of necessary restrictions.

A friend's mum used to refer to a milestone round her neck .
We were at a function when someone was retiring and the speaker said that this chap always had his finger on the ball .

When, a primary teacher used to tell my class we had another think coming.

Well, there you go - I had never heard of spitting feathers meaning being thirsty and had always thought it meant being furious! You have described it well, FarNorth. My father used "spitting tacks" for being furious, and I rather like that one.

There's one which has come up on MN before, and possibly here too. As I know it, it goes "If she thinks that, she's got another think coming", but there are those who would say that "she has another thing coming", which doesn't make sense to me.

Love those Phoenix.

My sister insists on passing the book

Jane10 I'm rather find of mixed metaphors too, and will sometimes deliberately use them, for example "Does the Pope sh*t in the woods?"

That Allsopp woman says "the proof is in the pudding! You would think she would know better!

Ginny a friend of mine is renowned for word mangling. She told me the follwing, all in deadly earnest:

She's become a social leopard

That house had such Panasonic views

My spare glasses make me look like Dave haemorrhage

When we were in Egypt, we were told that a certain fish was so poisonous, that if you even touched its utensils you could die

I wouldn't mess around, because I believe in mahogany

I enjoyed that film with Goldie Woopsberg

And I once heard her on the phone to a client say"Hello Mr Jones, you don't know me, but I would like to get familiar with you"

Haha Ginny!!

Some one I know informed me that she had been made ‘ an escaped goat’.

There was an area I used to live in where moggies were mice. I always thought it referred to cats?

Spitting feathers means angry in the Black Country/Staffordshire.
And he`s/she is in her oil tot.
Which means they are doing something they really enjoy and are in their element.
I love daft sayings and the meaning behind them.

I agree farnorth. It means embarrassed, ashamed and horrified (At being found out?)

Mortified - I always took to mean a combination of embarrassed and horrified, but so often I see it used where the person is horrified only.

Bit wimpy spitting feathers if you are angry.

I thought it meant being totally beside yourself with rage almost to the point of spluttering incoherently.

Maybe I've got it all wrong - I don't know where I first heard or saw it.

When I went to work in North London I heard the expression “black as Newgate’s knocker”.

All that’s glistens is not gold . Should be glisters

Spitting feathers was always thirsty to me, and ‘ off his own back’ and ‘ proof is in the pudding’ annoy me also, as does ‘ it played on my mind’.

A damp squid. ?

I was brought up in derbyshire where starving or starved meant cold, mesh meant to feel the cold, and Mardy meant cry baby or someone feeble.

What about’ on the home straight’

We used to learn the meanings and origins of these sayings at school but I guess they don't now.
I've noticed the spitting feathers for "angry" creeping in. I always thought is meant thirsty. I also shout at the screen when I see or hear ...
on tenderhooks
off his own back
proof is in the pudding
one foul swoop
money is the root of evil
etc.

I think they are perpetuated on social media so that they become the norm.

My late MIL was always getting initials mixed up. One of her best was when DH and I were looking for a new sofa. She asked if we'd been to MI5!

Can't change a leopard in mid stream
Plenty of fish on the beach

I do love a mixed metaphor. It's kind to help a lame duck over a stile

My mother talked about helping lame ducks over stiles and no-one could convince her that the expression is helping lame dogs over stiles.

She got really angry when I pointed out that a duck, lame or not, would probably fly over the stile and not need help.