Snowclone
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A snowclone is a type of cliché and phrasal template originally defined as "a multi-use, customizable, instantly recognizable, time-worn, quoted or misquoted phrase or sentence that can be used in an entirely open array of different jokey variants by lazy journalists and writers."[1]
An example of a snowclone is "X is the new Y", a generic form of the expression "pink is the new black". X and Y may be replaced with new words or phrases, as in "Random is the new order", a marketing phrase for the iPod shuffle. Both the generic formula and the new phrases produced from it are called "snowclones".
It emphasizes the use of a familiar (and often particular) formula and previous cultural knowledge of the reader to express information about an idea. The idea being discussed may be different in meaning from the original formula, but can be understood using the same trope as the original formulation.
History
The term was coined by Glen Whitman on January 15, 2004,[1] in response to a request from Geoffrey Pullum on the Language Log weblog.[2] The term is an allusion to a specific instance of the phenomenon:
- If the Eskimos have N words for snow, then X must surely have M words for Y.
As the Language Log explains, this is a popular rhetorical trope used by journalists to imply that cultural group X has reason to spend a great deal of time thinking about the specific idea Y,[3][4] despite the fact that the basic premise is wrong: Eskimos do not have an unusually large number of words for "snow".
In 1995, linguist David Crystal referred to this kind of trope as a "catch structure", citing as an example the phrase "to boldly split infinitives that no man had split before" as originally used in Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio series (1978).[5] Adams' phrase is a reference to a Star Trek phrase "...to boldly go where no man has gone before!", which contains a split infinitive, a construction that—decried by late-nineteenth century prescriptive grammarians[6][7]—continues to be discussed in English usage guides.[8]
Other examples
- "Have X, will travel." It was popularized by Have Gun – Will Travel, the title of a 1957–1963 U.S. radio and television series, which derived from the stock phrasing of short "want ads" in Variety: an example is Have Tux, Will Travel,[9] the title of Bob Hope's memoirs.[10] The title of Robert A. Heinlein's 1958 novel Have Spacesuit, Will Travel also referred to this stock phrase.
- "X considered harmful." The rise of this phrasal template was sparked by Edsger Dijkstra's 1968 letter to the Communications of the ACM, titled "Go To Statement Considered Harmful", as well as the responses "'GOTO Considered Harmful' Considered Harmful" and "'"GOTO Considered Harmful" Considered Harmful' Considered Harmful?".[11]
- "Got X?" This was originated by the "Got Milk?" campaign by the California Milk Processor Board in 1993, and has spawned many imitators, such as "Got Jesus?", "Got Beer?", and "Got Rice?".[12]
- "What Would X Do?" and its companion "What Would Jesus X"? Examples include "What Would Thor Do" and "What Would Jesus Buy?", respectively.
- "Save an X bang a Y" Popularized by the song Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy
References
- ^ a b Whitman, Glen (2004-01-14). "Phrases for Lazy Writers in Kit Form Are the New Cliches". Retrieved 2007-11-25.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Pullum, Geoffrey K. (2003-10-27). "Phrases for lazy writers in kit form". Language Log. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Liberman, Mark (2005-06-18). "Etymology as argument". Language Log. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Pullum, Geoffrey K. (2003-10-21). "Bleached conditionals". Language Log. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Crystal, David (1995). The Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 178.
- ^ Bache, Richard Meade (1869). Vulgarisms and Other Errors of Speech (second edition ed.). Philadelphia: Claxton, Remsen, and Haffelfinger. pp. p. 145. Retrieved 2006-10-31.
{{cite book}}:|edition=has extra text (help);|pages=has extra text (help) - ^ Raub, Robert N. (1897). Helps in the Use of Good English. Philadelphia. pp. p. 120. Retrieved 2006-11-13.
{{cite book}}:|pages=has extra text (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "Go Ahead, Split an Infinitive!". Business Writing Blog. 2006. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ "have". Online Etymology Dictionary. 2001. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ Hope, Bob (1954). Have Tux, Will Travel: Bob Hope's Own Story as Told to Pete Martin. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0743261038.
Hoofers, comedians and singers used to put ads in Variety. Those ads read: 'Have tuxedo, will travel'. It meant they were ready to go any place any time... It also meant that they would be dressed classy when they showed up.
- ^ Liberman, Mark (2007-07-03). "Considered harmful". Language Log. Retrieved 2007-10-30.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Got staying power? Landmark milk marketing campaign celebrates 10th anniversary. | Consumer Products > Food & Beverage Products from AllBusiness.com
Further reading
- "How the Web Is Changing Language". NPR Talk of the Nation. 2006-06-28. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - Peters, Mark (2006). "Not Your Father's Cliché". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
{{cite magazine}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - "The word: Snowclone". New Scientist. No. 2578. 2006-11-18. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
{{cite magazine}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Warburton, Annie (2007-03-24). "I mean, what's it mean?". Hobart, Tasmania: The Mercury.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - Smith, Russell (2007-05-31). "Do you speak kitteh?". Toronto: The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - Vaszily, Scott (2007-08-04). "Colourful language (letter)". New Scientist. No. 2615. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
{{cite magazine}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - McFedries, Paul (2008). "Snowclone Is The New Cliché". IEEE Spectrum. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
{{cite magazine}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help)
External links
- O'Connor, Erin. "The Snowclones Database". Retrieved 2007-11-25.
- Pullum, Geoffrey (2004-01-16). "Snowclones: lexicographical dating to the second". Language Log. Retrieved 2006-06-26.
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