Information AboutSnowclone |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT SNOWCLONE | |
| internet memes | |
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| pop-culture neologisms | |
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A common example of a snowclone is "X is The New Y ", which can be applied by inserting words or phrases for X and Y, "cloning" the trope of the original expression, "pink is The New Black ". For instance, this snowclone might appear as "Random is the New Order", a marketing phrase for the IPod Shuffle . HISTORY The term was coined by Glen Whitman in an email sent on on the blog Language Log : "the thing we need a name for is 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." {Link without Title} The term is an allusion to one particular instance of the phenomenon: If Eskimos have N words for snow, or simply X have —a favourite of journalists who wish to imply that some cultural group (X) has reason to spend a great deal of time thinking about a certain idea ('''Z'''). Not only is it frequently used with a variety of values of '''N''', X, '''Y''', and '''Z''', but the underlying facts are not very well-supported: the Eskimo-Aleut Languages don't particularly have more words for snow than English (see Eskimo Words For Snow ). As such, there is little reason to cite the so-called "fact", and use of the snowclone betrays a certain sloppiness characteristic of the form. The term "snowclone" can be applied to a wide variety of formulations in addition to the original one, which can derive from a wide variety of sources both popular and obscure. A representative sample:
IDENTIFYING SNOWCLONES There is no specific numeric criterion, in terms of number of instances, for identifying a snowclone. A Search Engine can be used as a tool to identify instances of snowclones, through the use of the asterisk operator in a search.
By using a search engine in this way, it is possible to build a basic picture of how many times a particular snowclone appears, and the various incarnations of it that are used in Internet discourse. SEE ALSO
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