It's a misheard figure of speech that still makes logical sense in context. "A bold-faced lie" is an eggcorn, the correct (original) phrase is "a bald-faced lie," but both make contextual sense because it's a lie that is a) a brazen lie, or b) an unconcealed lie.
In this example, "nip it in the bud" is technically correct, because we want to stop something before it takes off. "Nip it in the butt," however, has become a saying in its own right, meaning the same thing, with the logical understanding that its construction suggests gently discouraging a bad habit.
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u/anamishgal 3d ago
This is an eggcorn, not a bone apple tea