Crash Blossoms (and other language tidbits)

CONFUSION CAUSED BY CRASH BLOSSOMS

So reads the headline that reportedly birthed a new phrase for those moments when brevity interferes with meaning: crash blossoms. Here’s another example, drawn from Mark Peters’ article on the topic: McDonald's fries the holy grail for potato farmers (Laurence Horn (via Steve Anderson) on the American Dialect Society listserv).

I think that the Internet has sped up language development. For instance, ever hear of a snowclone? According to the Urban Dictionary, a snowclone is “A type of formula-based cliché that uses an old idiom in a new context. A common example: "X is the new Y", a generic form of the original expression "pink is the new black". In order to apply the snowclone, X and Y should be substituted with new words or phrases.”

So when I say “Scripts? We don’t need no stinking scripts!” I’m using a snowclone (although I might not know it at the time.) (Here’s a terrif article about snowclones, if you desire further distraction.)

Ah, words. Don’t you love ’em?

:) Cheryl