Snowclone

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Not to be confused with Snow cone.

Snowclone is a 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 variants". The term was coined as a neologism in 2004, described as "some-assembly-required adaptable cliché frames for lazy journalists". It refers to journalistic clichés which refer to Eskimo words for snow.[1]

A typical example snowclone is the phrase "grey is the new black" (a form of the template "X is the new Y", in which "X" and "Y" may be replaced with different words or phrases—for example, Orange is the New Black or even "comedy is the new rock 'n' roll".[2]

History[edit]

In October 2003, linguist Geoffrey K. Pullum described the phenomenon in a post on Language Log, a collaborative blog by several linguistics professors, and solicited ideas for what the phenomenon should be called.[3] In response to the request, the word "snowclone" was coined by Glen Whitman on January 15, 2004, and Pullum endorsed it as a term of art the next day.[1] The term has since been adopted by other linguists, journalists, and authors.[4][5] The term alludes to one of Pullum's example template phrases:

If Eskimos have N words for snow, X surely have M words for Y.

As 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,[6][7] although the basic premise (that Eskimos have a larger number of words for snow) is often disputed by those who study Eskimo languages.

Snowclones are related to both memes and clichés, as the Los Angeles Times' David Sarno notes, "Snowclones are memechés, if you will: meme-ified clichés with the operative words removed, leaving spaces for you or the masses to Mad Lib their own versions."[8]

Similar concepts[edit]

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).[9] Adams' phrase references Star Trek ("...to boldly go where no man has gone before") to humorously highlight the use of a split infinitive as an intentional violation of a disputed traditional rule of grammar.[10]

In the study of folklore, the concept of proverbial phrase has a long history of description and analysis. There are many kinds of such wordplay, as described in a variety of studies of written and oral sources.[11]

Notable examples[edit]

Saddam Hussein, who popularised the phrase "the mother of all…"

The original request from Geoffrey Pullum, in addition to the Eskimos-and-snow namesake of the term, mentioned a poster slogan for the 1979 film Alien, "In space, no one can hear you scream", which was cloned into numerous twistings, such as "In space, no one can see your breasts".[3]

In 2003, an article in The Economist stated, "If Eskimos have dozens of words for snow, Germans have as many for bureaucracy". A similar statement in the Edmonton Sun in 2007, claiming that "auto manufacturers have 100 words for beige".[12]

The practice of applying the "-gate" suffix to words to denote a scandal is regarded as a snowclone. It originates from the Watergate scandal that brought down the Nixon Presidency.[13] Examples include "Hackgate" or "Irangate".

A similar practice emerged also in Italian media with "-poli" suffix, originating from Tangentopoli scandal. The term derives from tangente, which means kickback (referred to kickbacks given for public works contracts),[14] and poli meaning city. Examples include Bancopoli financial scandal and Calciopoli sport scandal.

One of the best known examples of a snowclone is the phrase "the mother of all…", a superlative which is often used to refer to something as "great" or "the greatest of its kind". It originates from the Gulf War when Saddam Hussein's Revolutionary Command Council issued a statement on 21 September 1990 warning the US-led Coalition Forces against military action in Kuwait: "Let everyone understand that this battle is going to become the mother of all battles".[15] This calque from Arabic gained popularity in the media and is frequently adapted for phrases such as "the mother of all budgets" or "the Mother Of All Bombs". The original Arabic phrase originates from the Arab victory over the Sassanian Persians in 636 AD, the original "mother of all battles" (Arabic: ام المعارك umm al-ma‘ārik). Although popularly used simply to mean "greatest", the Arabic umm al- is a figurative term that refers to something not only as as "greatest" or "ultimate" but also as something that will give birth to many more of its kind.[16][17] The phrase was used in the naming of a mosque in Baghdad, the Umm al-Ma'arik Mosque . The American Dialect Society declared "the mother of all" the 1991 Word of the Year.[18]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Pullum, Geoffrey K (January 16, 2004). "Snowclones: lexicographical dating to the second". Language Log. Retrieved Jan 5, 2010. 
  2. ^ Jupitus, Phill (June 2, 2008). "Comedy is the new rock 'n' roll (again)". Times Online. London: The Times. Retrieved September 14, 2009. 
  3. ^ a b Pullum, Geoffrey K (October 27, 2003). "Phrases for lazy writers in kit form". Language Log. Retrieved November 25, 2007. 
  4. ^ Abley, Mark (2008). The Prodigal Tongue: Dispatches from the Future of English. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 173. ISBN 978-0-618-57122-2. 
  5. ^ McFedries, Paul (February 2008). "Snowclone Is The New Cliché". IEEE Spectrum. Retrieved February 21, 2008. 
  6. ^ Liberman, Mark (June 18, 2005). "Etymology as argument". Language Log. Retrieved November 25, 2007. 
  7. ^ Pullum, Geoffrey K (October 21, 2003). "Bleached conditionals". Language Log. Retrieved November 25, 2007. 
  8. ^ "The snowclone", Webscout, The LA Times, Aug 6, 2008 .
  9. ^ Crystal, David (1995). The Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 178. 
  10. ^ See Fowler, H.W.; Gowers, Ernest (1965). "Split infinitive". A Dictionary of Modern English Usage (2nd ed.). Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. 
  11. ^ Loomis, C. Grant (1964). "Proverbial Phrases in Journalistic Wordplay". Western Folklore. 23 (3): 187–f89. 
  12. ^ McFedries, Paul. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Weird Word Origins. Penguin. ISBN 9781101217184. Retrieved 15 April 2017. 
  13. ^ Fogarty, Mignon. The Grammar Devotional: Daily Tips for Successful Writing from Grammar Girl (TM). Henry Holt and Company. p. 38. ISBN 9781429964401. Retrieved 15 April 2017. 
  14. ^ Stephen P. Koff (2002). Italy: From the 1st to the 2nd Republic. Routledge. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-203-00536-1. 
  15. ^ Ratcliffe, Susan (2010). Oxford Dictionary of Quotations by Subject. Oxford University Press. p. 219. ISBN 9780199567065. 
  16. ^ Safire, William. Safire's Political Dictionary. Oxford University Press. p. 439. ISBN 9780195343342. Retrieved 15 April 2017. 
  17. ^ Dickson, Paul. War Slang: American Fighting Words & Phrases Since the Civil War, Third Edition. Courier Corporation. p. 317. ISBN 9780486797168. Retrieved 15 April 2017. 
  18. ^ "» All of the Words of the Year, 1990 to Present American Dialect Society". www.americandialect.org. Retrieved 2016-05-21. 

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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