Phrasal Templates in Advertising

Driving on the expressway recently, I passed a truck bearing a particular phrase. Most drivers would probably write it off as an eponymous company name and not give it any more thought. My language-loving, word-playing brain wouldn't let it go so quickly however. 

Image from: Rich Logistics

Above is what I saw, below is what I thought: 


Rich logistics, poor genetics
Rich logistics, poor athletics
Rich logistics, poor statistics
Rich logistics, poor aesthetics
Rich logistics, poor didactics
Rich logistics, poor schematics


And the list could go on and on.


These phrasal coordinations are based on the well-known and snowclone-able phrase "often imitated, never duplicated".


According to the Phrase Finder, "often imitated (but) never duplicated" has been "used in a lot of different ad copy back to the 1920's but it doesn't seem to have been a trademarked slogan exclusive to one product or company."


Snowclones of "often imitated, never duplicated" that I have seen include "big taste, small budget" and "cold beer, hot food". I'm sure there are many more too; so, please feel free to share additional examples in comments.


A semantic analysis of the snowclone: "desriptor + descriptee, desriptor + descriptee" 
Note: Descriptors in the coordinations must be antonyms


A syntactic analysis of the snowclone: "Adj + Noun, Adj + Noun" or "Adverb + Verb, Adverb + Verb"


My apologies to Rich Logistics; it is all in good fun. 

Corpus Linguistics: A Slim Figure of Speech Graph

Is it "slim to none" or "slim and none"?

I grew up with the phrase "slim to none", which means that the chances of an event occurring fall somewhere between slim and none. In other words, there is a scale with multiple options (admittedly the options are slim from the get go).

<---->

SLIM | | | | | | NONE

In a book I am reading currently, I encountered the phrase "slim and none". I initially thought there was either an unintentional conjunction error or that the author grew up mishearing the phrase.

A quick Google search told me that there really are two semantically-sensible versions.

The alternate version, "slim and none", simply eliminates the scalar aspect of the phrase; thus the chances of an event occurring are either slim or none.

SLIM [ ] NONE [ ]

I can't believe that I had never heard this alternate version. Now I am wondering if it is a regional variation. Please help me by commenting below with your preferred version and your region of origin.

I did feel a bit better about my lack of familiarity with the non-scalar version when I graphed the two versions on Google Ngram.

Click on chart to enlarge.

slim to none slim and none

From Google Books Ngram Viewer

Fun with Phrases - Mixing Minced Oaths

During my youth, both "Geez Louise" and "For Pete's sake" were commonly used minced oaths in my family.

Here is my spin on the two:

Geez Louise + For Pete's sake

= For Louise's sake

Creative Phraseology with Yahoo

SUBJECT: If I hop in the shower, am I turning into a rabbit?

I made an accidental but entertaining discovery today; clicking on the subject button when writing a Yahoo e-mail will generate a random and amusing phrase in the subject line of the e-mail. Many of these phrases succeed in being humorous thanks to the writer's creative use of morphology and semantics.

Here are a few that I enjoyed:

Cinco de Mayonnaise
Shake it, don't break it, took your mama 9 months to make it.
Cannibals are what they eat
this body is slowing and my mind is reverse growing
Did you say Yute? What's a Yute?
cycling over melons
Some Powdered Muffin with your Starfish, Dr Arbuckle?
My dog eats nuts
Pressing business at the dry cleaners
Save some funk for Sunday
Alarming drop-out rate of sky diving classes
My mono isn't getting better...it could turn into stereo

I would love to know who writes these so I could thank them/him/her for not recycling boring old catch phrases.

Thanks to Toothpaste for Dinner for the great cartoon.

Silly Snowclone Version II (Rated R)

Back in May of this year, I posted about a snowclone that my son and I spotted on the back of a truck - "Silly Boys Trucks Are For Girls". The snowclone used the following clichéd advertising phrase as a linguistic template:


A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I were at a restaurant/bar in northern Michigan that was hosting a bike night when we ran into a gentleman wearing the t-shirt pictured below:

Talk about giving a children's cereal an adult spin.

Silly Snowclone Spotted

On a recent drive home from northern Michigan, I spotted this great example of a snowclone (Don't worry, I didn't take the picture while driving - my son gets photographic credit for this one).

Silly Boys Trucks Are For Girls

A snowclone is a phrase that is produced by using a clichéd phrase as a linguistic template. The template for the above snowclone is: Silly X, Y are for Z. And in case the original clichéd phrase is escaping you, here it is:

The word snowclone was coined by a Language Log reader as a label for these phrases based on the mistaken belief that Eskimos have an unusually large number of words for snow.

“If Eskimos have N words for snow, X surely have Y words for Z.”

Phrase Etymology - A Pair of Pants

The other day my son asked me why we say "a pair of pants" when pants are only one thing. Of course I immediately said it is because a pair of pants has two legs...just like a pair of glasses has two lenses and a pair of scissors has two blades. "Why not a pair of t-shirts then...t-shirts have two sleeves," he questioned.

According to Michael Quinoin at World Wide Words, pants are a pair because, "before the days of modern tailoring, such garments, whether underwear or outerwear, were indeed made in two parts, one for each leg. The pieces were put on each leg separately and then wrapped and tied or belted at the waist (just like cowboys’ chaps). The plural usage persisted out of habit even after the garments had become physically one piece. However, a shirt was a single piece of cloth, so it was always singular."

Playing with Mottos

I can remember hearing the expression "don't sweat the small stuff" since I was a young child. I think it is a wonderful motto to live by, but I just heard an even better one -

"Don't sweat the small stuff and don't pet the sweaty stuff."

The Evolution of Language - A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

According to an article in the March 9th Newsweek, the phrase "terrible, horrible, no good very bad day" has made appearances in 50 news stories about certain politicians since the spring of 2007. The article also mentions that references to the phrase, "all but disappear," a few years prior to that.



The phrase "terrible, horrible, no good very bad day" originated in 1972 as part of the title of a book by Judith Viorst, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.


The author's theory about why the phrase is being used on a recurring basis now, according to the Newsweek article, is that the children who were raised on the book are now the adults who are, "running the world."

Amazing how certain words and phrases come and go and come again. The evolution of language sure is fascinating.

Michigan Unique Words and Phrases

Words and phrases unique to Michigan residents from MICHIGANNATIVE.COM

"Beeyemites": refers to residents of the city of Birmingham which is abbreviated "B'ham."

"Big BEEverr": pronouncing this major thoroughfare through the city of Troy almost always draws snickers from out-of-towners. It was originally named in the 1800's after a nearby beaver pond, long since paved over. Sadly enough, the fact that it is Exit 69 on I-75, and the old location for the Playboy Club, perpetuates its urban legend factor.

"The Bridge": Everywhere except for the towns of Port Huron or Detroit, "The Bridge" refers to The "Mackinaw" Bridge.

"Bulletproof Snow": A common occurrence at Michigan ski resorts, the continuous melting and refreezing of snow on the runs results in "bulletproof snow."

"A Cole One": a beer. Or several.

"Doorwall:" Sliding glass door.

"Euchre": a card game which is popular in Michigan and seemingly, no where else.

"Geez-o-pete!": Related: "Geez-Louise!" A Michigan expletive for polite company, having something to do with Jesus and St. Peter.

"Glovebox": US equivalent: glove compartment.

"A Good One": a good day. Proper Michigan etiquette is to say "have a good one!" to the checkout clerk when leaving the store.

"Hourlies": hourly factory workers, usually automotive.

"How'zit goin'?" In other parts of the world, the equivalent of "what's up?" or "how are you?"

"The Joe": Our energy-saving name for Detroit's Joe Louis Arena (thanks to DJ Clutch)

"Michigan Left": A right turn onto a boulevard followed by an immediate u-turn at the next available crossover. This keeps traffic from backing up at intersections with boulevards.

"Parking Deck": Alternate form: "parking ramp". Known elsewhere as a parking garage.

"The Plant": any factory (again, usually automotive).

"The Ren Cen": Detroit's Renaissance Center, which 1) hasn't ever been called by its full name, ever, and 2) didn't spark the "renaissance" that Detroiters had hoped for, and 3) wouldn't fit in as a place to hold a Renaissance Festival.

"SecretariahState": US equivalent: Department of Motor Vehicles.

"The Soo": Refers to the small Upper Peninsula town Sault Sainte Marie that weathermen across the nation love to refer to. Pronounced "soo saint marie".

"The Thumb": the thumb-shaped area of the Lower Peninsula "mitten".

"Up North": common for anywhere in the state north of the middle of Michigan's Lower Peninsula.

"The Windsor Ballet": Term used by Detroiters to say they're going to Canadian strip clubs in nearby Windsor. "Where ya'ff to, honey?" "Oh, the boss wants us to take a client out to the ballet. In, uhh, Windsor."

Indiana Jones Nukes the Fridge

Though I have not seen (nor do I have any desire to see) the new Indiana Jones sequel, my 13-year-old son (who has seen the series in its entirety) tells me that it deserves each and every one of the bad reviews it has received. Indeed, according to the July 7/July 14 issue of Newsweek, a new phrase was coined only two days after the movie opened on May 22 that enunciates the extent of the movie's tanking. The phrase is "nuke the fridge" and it is comparable in movie lingo to television's "jump the shark." To refresh your memory, Happy Days, which was once a great television series, clearly went a season to long when it resorted to having the Fonz jump a shark on waterskis. Ever since then, the phrase "jump the shark" has been used to describe what happens when a popular television series runs an episode that causes the series to plummet into absurdity. And now we have a phrase that can be applied to a movie series that plummets into absurdity. "Nuke the fridge" is based on a scene in which Indy survives a nuclear blast by closing himself in a refrigerator. I always enjoyed the Indiana Jones movies and I am sad to hear that it has "nuked the fridge."

Dialects, Idiolects and Clanolects

While most people are familiar with the word dialect and have a general understanding of what constitutes a dialect, not everyone is familiar with the word idiolect. An idiolect is a variety of language distinctive to an individual person and may include word choice or vocabulary, pronunciations, grammatical patterns, use of phrases or idioms and more. What is not included specifically in the semantic parameters of either the word dialect or idiolect is a variety of language specific to an individual family and close friends. The more people I talk to and the more words and phrases I encounter, I believe there is definitely a need for a word to cover this variety of language. I propose the word clanolect.

Clanolect: A a variety of language specific to an individual family and immediate close friends. Includes distinctive vocabulary, pronunciations, grammatical patterns and phrases or idioms.

Examples from clanolects I have encoutered:

Words:
ascared - a blend of afraid and scared
klim - milk

Pronunciations:
purple pronounced as pur - pile
garage pronounced as though it rhymes with carraige

A phrase from a friend's father:
"Go take an obscornicle survey." - When the kids would ask if they could do something he would tell them to take an obcornicle survey first. (Obscornicle being an invented word)

A favorite idiom from my childhood:
"Poo on rye bread does not taste good." - Response to a person who said something with which you didn't agree or didn't like.

I'm sure there are many more examples out there and I would love to hear them. Please click on comments below to send me words or phrases from your clanolect.

Linguistic Hedges and Crossword Puzzles

A hedge is a linguistic device that is used by a speaker, or writer to communicate his or her feelings regarding the degree of accuracy or truth in a statement. Hedges can be in the form of adjectives, adverbs and, my favorite, phrases. As you readers already know, crossword puzzles are another one of my favorite things. A few weeks ago the Detroit Free Press ran a great crossword puzzle with phrasal hedges as the theme. Boy, was that a fun one. Following are the clues and answers:

Don't know for sure, but... So they say
Don't quote me, but... The word is
According to the grapevine... Reportedly
From people in the know... Rumor has it

More on the Yooper Dialect

Here are some more examples of differences between the dialect found in the Upper Peninsula and the Standard American Dialect:

U.P. Dialect --- Standard American Dialect
Expressions:
Wah --- Wow
Holy wah! --- Really wow
Eh. Okay, --- what or hey
Yah sure-hey --- You’ve got to be kidding. I don’t believe it.
Youbetcha --- Yes, without a doubt

Directional Phrases:
Side by each --- Side by side
Pre’neer --- Pretty near or very close
Kotisva --- Go this way
Kotatva --- Go that way

Grammatical changes:
Let’s go Shop-ko. --- Let’s go to the store.
Make wood --- Split logs

Vocabulary:
Pank --- To pack down
Swampers --- Rubber boots
Choppers --- Deer skin mittens with a wool insert
Chuke --- French-Canadian knitted hat with a tassel
Lats --- Skis, usually homemade
Sauna --- Finnish steam room
Camp --- Cottage

Foods:
Pasty --- Finnish or Cornish meat pie
Kala Mojaka --- Finnish fish stew
Juustua --- Finnish cheese

Many of these examples also exhibit the strong influence of the Finnish language on the dialect found in the Upper Peninsula today.

The differing grammatical rules can be seen by the dropping of prepositions in the dialect. This is directly related to the Finnish language as it has 14 declensions of nouns and does not use prepositions. Finnish nouns have the meaning of “to” added as a suffix called a postposition. In addition, the Finnish language does not use articles such as a, an or the. This can be seen in the sentence structure of the dialect as well and in the example of “Let’s go Shop-ko”.

Word borrowing is also used. Some of the words in the dialect are Finnish words including many of the popular foods and some of the directional phrases.

Animal Phrases

At the suggestion of one of my readers (Hello Ryn), tomorrow I plan to discuss the origins of some phrases in English that make reference to animals. For example: cat got your tongue, get the monkey off your back, and raining cats and dogs. If anyone has a particular animal phrase you are curious about, please send me a comment by clicking on comments below.