Attack of the Clones.

IDIOMS; LINGUOSTYLISTICS; PHRASEOLOGY; LINGUISTICS; LITERACY

The article considers the proliferation of repeatable idioms called snowclones. Christened by Glen Whitman, an economist at California State University at Northridge, the term snowclone was inspired by the frequently repeated yet inaccurate saying that if Eskimos have N words for snow, then X have Y words for Z. Within social groups, such refrains have currency, says Arnold Zwicky, a professor of linguistics at Stanford University. They are badges of cultural literacy and expressions of solidarity with others.