# snowclone

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈsnəʊ.kləʊn/

## Definitions
1. A formulaic phrase that can be customized to fit a variety of contexts.

## Etymology
Blend of snow cone + clone, in reference to the phrase “If Eskimos have dozens of words for snow, X have as many for Y” (which is an example of a snowclone). Coined by American television writer and economist Glen Whitman in January 2004, in response to Geoffrey Pullum on the blog Language Log.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/snowclone