Showing results for "snowclone"

snowclone

British

/ ˈsnəʊˌkləʊn /

noun

a verbal formula that is adapted for reuse by changing only a few words so that the allusion to the original phrase remains clear

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of snowclone

C21: from _snow in reference to the common formula 'If the Inuit have N words for snow, then surely X have Y words for Z ' + _clone

Example Sentences

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snowclone

Goodall, by now adjusted to the idea that he did not invent the "peak X" snowclone, is thinking about why it caught the imagination.

From The Guardian ● Aug. 27, 2014

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023