terminology - “Let's burn that bridge when we come to it” – is this sort of idiom mixing considered a pun, and if so, does it have a specific name?



I couldn't come up with a short title, but the upside is that there is not much needed to be said in the body of the question!



For @dmr (and others), it mixes “let's cross that bridge when we come to it” and “burn one's bridges”.



Answer



Seems these are called malaphors



Definition:


An informal term for a blend of two aphorisms, idioms, or clichés (such as "That's the way the cookie bounces").


Etymology:


A blend of malaproprism and metaphor, coined by Lawrence Harrison in the Washington Post article "Searching for Malaphors" (Aug. 6, 1976)



Wiktionary has your exact example



Examples include "hitting the nail on the thumb", "barking up the wrong alley" and "We'll burn that bridge when we come to it".



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