Snowclones, memes, and you!

A snowclone is a cliché and phrasal template that can be used and recognized in multiple variants. The term was coined as a neologism in 2004, derived from journalistic clichés that referred to the number of Inuit words for snow.

A snowclone is a fill-in-the-blank template based on a familiar, often elderly phrase, such as “To X or not to X” or “This is your brain on X.” Journalists adore snowclones, especially in display text.