A snowclone is a phrasal template based on a well-known cliché, idiom, catchphrase, or pop culture quote, substituting words to express a similar idea in a different context, often to humorous or sarcastic effect. For example, the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s widely publicized phrase “the mother of all battles” in 1991 spawned such variations as “the mother of all traffic jams” or “mother of all bombs”. Coined in 2004 by economics professor Glen Whitman—following an appeal by linguist Geoffrey K. Pullum—the term is a playful pun on “snow cones” and the famous journalistic cliché that “If Eskimos have N words for snow, X must have Y words for Z”. Pullum famously criticized them as “some-assembly-required adaptable cliché frames for lazy journalists”.
Snowclones have a linguistic cousin, eggcorn. An eggcorn is a misheard or misinterpreted word or phrase that is replaced with a similar-sounding, plausible alternative that still makes logical sense. Common examples include:
- “For all intensive purposes” instead of for all intents and purposes
- “Nip it in the butt” instead of nip it in the bud
- “Pass mustard” instead of pass muster
I find these wordplay subjects both interesting and amusing. That they have names is even better.
