upcoming snowclone alert

[Arnold Zwicky]

On Nov 17, 2010, at 10:37 PM, David Bowie wrote:

> From:    James Harbeck<jharbeck at SYMPATICO.CA>
>
>> A new internet "meme" being passed around:
>
>> http://jezebel.com/5691185/your-latest-internet-meme--tons-of-fucking-sequins
>
>> Assuming its popularity is sufficiently widespread, expect to see a
>> little fad for "tons of... fuckin' X" come and go.
>
> Is this really a snowclone? Given the workaday use of both "tons of" and
> "fucking" as intensifying modifiers, this doesn't seem like a snowclone
> to me any more than "a lot of [insert size] X" would be.

yes. i label such things "playful variations" and have often talked about cases on Language Log, my regular blog, and my X blog. most recent postings:

AZBlog, 11/15/10: Make X Not War:
http://arnoldzwicky.wordpress.com/2010/11/15/make-x-not-war/

AZBlogX, 11/7/10: High-macho (cont.): brutal masculinity:
 http://arnold-x-zwicky.livejournal.com/13624.html

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