Snowclones Of Illuminati Ganga
Wiktionary, at the time of this writing says that
Snowclones are a kind of cliché in which the principal words of a phrase are changed while the structure of the phrase remains the same.
Sure. But also they are the most easily analyzed form of meme — in the original memetics version of the term — while also providing an easy bridge to the more common internet understanding of meme and tying up the relation between the two.
If you follow the link to the wiktionary article
It also has a long list of various examples of snowclones
Which shows the essential template of each popular snowclone — an invaluable resource that is also, since Twitter’s X-change — a source of endless amusement.
Snowclone Evolution
Because a Snowclone has a number of variables that input into it, the evolution of a snowclone is much easier to evaluate at scale (using automatic analysis) than parodies of poetry (which can be evaluated for sentiment analysis etc.) or other more advanced forms of evolution.
Many of the snowclones at the linked wiktionary site have only one variable, X, most have 2 variables X and Y, and very few have more than 2 variables.
Another consideration to keep in mind regarding snowclone evolution is the purposes of snowclone creation and those who create snowclones.
As a general rule a snowclone is made for a humorous purpose and the people who make them are not making them to advance a rational argument, nor are their creators any more likely than any random samplings of people to be especially capable of making rational arguments.
In this way the snowclone varies from other types of cliches that have a limited number of variables used to generate variations.
Snowclone-like Memes
Two well known memetic forms that have a structure similar to snowclones but a different purpose that are tracked by Illuminati Ganga’s memetic auditors separately from snowclones are as follow:
Bizclones — These snowclone like statements are used as sales or convincing arguments for a business process. While a snowclone is supposed to draw laughter these are supposed to draw agreement in the process being advocated. An obvious example would be “Uber for X” where X is replaced with an industry that is supposed to be uberized.
Logiclones — A statement without humorous intent, often made for drawing agreement on the underlying logical concept of a field. We have written on one such
In this article the example Logiclone has the structure “It is better for X guilty to go free than it is for Y innocent to Z” where X is often 1, Y is some number much bigger than 1, and Z is often “suffer”.
Introclones — The Introclone is the parody of the famous start of a story, used for a convenient way for a writer to slip in to their subject — probably the most common introclone is the beginning of Pride and Prejudice:
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife
Which is generally formatted either like
It is a truth universally acknowledged that X
Or
It is a truth universally acknowledged that X in possession of Y must be in want of Z
OutroClones — Not as prevalent as Introclones, and generally so cliched and simple that they do not contribute anything at all to the text they end, generally used because the writer needs to end a text and just doesn’t know how to do it. While an Introclone can seem witty an Outroclone never is.
Example Outtroclone — One thing is certain, for X things will never be the same.
AND NOW — A SPECIAL SELECTION OF
ILLUMINATI GANGA
SNOWCLONES THROUGH THE AGES
If Eskimos have 100s of words for Snow, Illuminati Ganga have infinite words for Snowclones.
IN THE WORDS OF MARK TWAIN
And Now — Cuz we bored, here’s some Snowpomes.
What we are short of
19 cents short of a paradigm
18 short of maturity
17 short of a rack of teen magazine
16 short of a John Hughes film
15 short of the legal age
14 short of John Holmes
13 short of an evil conspiracy
12 short of a list of commandments
11 short of 2 ones
10 short of perfection
9 cents short of a dime
8 short of the required height for this ride
7 short of some adorable dwarfs
6 short of the first digit in a human number
5 short of a handful of fingers
4 cents short of a nickel.
3 short of a hot porn pictorial
2 short of answering 1 + 1
1 bit short of a byte
0 short of a blast off.
Iterative list one
One word short of a sentence
One bit short of a byte
One bite short of a spoonful
One spoonful of Coke short of a hemorrhage
One toke over the Line Sweet Jesus
One Jesus short of a resurrection
One erection short of a hard one
One pair of shorts short of minimal legal attire
Iterative List Two
One Pair short of a couple
One Couple short of a coupling
One Integer short of a legal number
One short short of a long
One Short short of a short
One Long short of a short
One short short of a sentence with short in it.
FINALLY
Here is a link to what is probably the greatest Snowclone ever made — Have Love Will Travel, A snowclone of Have Gun, Will Travel
This article was written by IG Agent 81
