A snowclone, if you’re not familiar with the term, 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 variants.'” (from Wikipedia). For example, X is the new Y, as in “Black is the new pink” or “Sixty is the new forty.” For enough snowclones to build an army of snowclonemen, check out The Snowclones Database.
I became immediately interested in snowclones after learning about them. There are a lot out there… I’m sure one could fill several books with examples.
Today I want to share with you one of my favorites. Any guesses on what it is? I’ll give you a clue: the title of this post! I hope you’ve seen Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, it’s a wonderful movie but I’m not here to review the film.
I’ve been combing the net for for examples of this Snowclone just for the heck of it. Now that I’ve got this blog, I’ll show my findings. Below are examples of “How I Learned to Stop Worring and Love the X”: