Comments on: The snow to my clone http://noncompositional.com/2006/11/the-snow-to-my-clone/ Thu, 13 Jan 2011 01:44:08 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Russell http://noncompositional.com/2006/11/the-snow-to-my-clone/comment-page-1/#comment-4795 Russell Fri, 17 Nov 2006 19:37:24 +0000 http://noncompositional.com/2006/11/the-snow-to-my-clone/#comment-4795 <p>I suppose under a narrow definition of snowclone, these wouldn't count. The original sort of thing that was supposed to be a snowclone, IIRC, was an expression (syntactically idiomatic or not) that would concisely present an idea, in part by way of allusion or analogy to a piece of common cultural knowledge that -itself- is commonly expressed in the same way. (thus "if A have X words for L, then..."). This is certainly not of that type, I agree. It is (or was) originally probably just metaphor and/or playful language; it may at one point have been a "snowclone" as well, depending on how far people conceptualized these as roles in some dramatic production. Now it is common enough an expression, though it lends itself to particular sorts of genres. And that, I think, is part of where the blending from "a fun way to say something" to "a conventional method to [do the stuff I described above]" comes in.</p> <p>(Also, I'm not sure that for the "to" case, that the entire story can be told just by specifying the meaning of "to." There's also the meaning you have to assign to the possession; but I haven't thought about it in great detail, so I don't really have much to say about it.)</p> I suppose under a narrow definition of snowclone, these wouldn’t count. The original sort of thing that was supposed to be a snowclone, IIRC, was an expression (syntactically idiomatic or not) that would concisely present an idea, in part by way of allusion or analogy to a piece of common cultural knowledge that -itself- is commonly expressed in the same way. (thus “if A have X words for L, then…”). This is certainly not of that type, I agree. It is (or was) originally probably just metaphor and/or playful language; it may at one point have been a “snowclone” as well, depending on how far people conceptualized these as roles in some dramatic production. Now it is common enough an expression, though it lends itself to particular sorts of genres. And that, I think, is part of where the blending from “a fun way to say something” to “a conventional method to [do the stuff I described above]” comes in.

(Also, I’m not sure that for the “to” case, that the entire story can be told just by specifying the meaning of “to.” There’s also the meaning you have to assign to the possession; but I haven’t thought about it in great detail, so I don’t really have much to say about it.)

]]> By: AJD http://noncompositional.com/2006/11/the-snow-to-my-clone/comment-page-1/#comment-4793 AJD Fri, 17 Nov 2006 15:51:44 +0000 http://noncompositional.com/2006/11/the-snow-to-my-clone/#comment-4793 <p>Why is this a snowclone? ...I mean, as opposed to just being distinctive meanings of "play" and "to"?</p> Why is this a snowclone? …I mean, as opposed to just being distinctive meanings of “play” and “to”?

]]> By: The Ridger http://noncompositional.com/2006/11/the-snow-to-my-clone/comment-page-1/#comment-4585 The Ridger Sun, 12 Nov 2006 16:35:04 +0000 http://noncompositional.com/2006/11/the-snow-to-my-clone/#comment-4585 <p>Ants and grasshoppers - the old fable. Ant works hard all summer, piling up food. Grasshopper plays around, laughing at ant. Winter comes, ant has lots of food; grasshopper shows up begging to be let in to spend the winter with ant. Ant sends grasshopper off to die. (In the Russian version, the ant says (to the dragonfly as it is in Russian): "Go on and dance!" Same basic message: I've worked hard and do not intend to share with you.)</p> <p>A metaphor for useless art and useful labor, with the artist dying in the end - or, more simply and less darkly, the stern lesson that you must plan for the future not just take things a day at a time.</p> <p>Either way, "I'm the ant to her grasshopper" means "I'm the serious hard-working one while she's the flighty one."</p> Ants and grasshoppers – the old fable. Ant works hard all summer, piling up food. Grasshopper plays around, laughing at ant. Winter comes, ant has lots of food; grasshopper shows up begging to be let in to spend the winter with ant. Ant sends grasshopper off to die. (In the Russian version, the ant says (to the dragonfly as it is in Russian): “Go on and dance!” Same basic message: I’ve worked hard and do not intend to share with you.)

A metaphor for useless art and useful labor, with the artist dying in the end – or, more simply and less darkly, the stern lesson that you must plan for the future not just take things a day at a time.

Either way, “I’m the ant to her grasshopper” means “I’m the serious hard-working one while she’s the flighty one.”

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