snowclone

Etymology
, after the popular idea that the Inuit have a large number of words for different types of snow; coined by Glen Whitman in response to Geoffrey Pullum on the blog Language Log.

Noun

 * 1)  A type of cliché which uses an old idiom formulaically placed in a new context.
 * 2) * 2006 Nov 18, unknown author, "Snowclone", in New Scientist 192(2578), page 80
 * "en"
 * 1) * 2006 Nov 18, unknown author, "Snowclone", in New Scientist 192(2578), page 80
 * "en"
 * 1) * 2006 Nov 18, unknown author, "Snowclone", in New Scientist 192(2578), page 80
 * "en"
 * "en"

- When you read phrases like these in a newspaper, you've stumbled across a particular type of cliché: the snowclone.

Translations

 * Chinese:
 * Mandarin: 雪克隆
 * Dutch: sneeuwkloon
 * Finnish: kulunut ilmaus
 * French:
 * German: sprachline Schablone
 * Japanese:, スノークローン
 * Russian: фра́за-клише́
 * Swedish: snöklon

Verb

 * 1)  To use a snowclone in speech or writing.