Tag Archives: phrasal templates

You want justice? Judge Jeanie!

Stuff I Actually Think,

I  love Judge Judy.

I know that is horrible to admit, but I actually think a lot of the people she yells at need to be yelled at.  I am pretty mean underneath it all.

She has said:

Don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining.

and

Don’t spit on my cupcake and tell me it’s icing.

That is an awesome phrasal template.  I think you should help me come up with some more of those and we can send them to Judge Judy and maybe she can use them.  Or maybe she will tell us to butt out – in the way only she can.

TRY IT ::

Frame a phrasal template :: Don’t _________________ and tell me it’s _________________.

Go!

Snowclone Collection

Stuff I Actually Think, ,

Yes.  SnowCLONEs.

A snowclone is a type of cliché sometimes defined as “a multi-use, customizable, instantly recognizable, time-worn, quoted or misquoted phrase or sentence that can be used in an entirely open array of different variants.”

Phrasal Templates. 

I find them interesting.  You know?  Those phrases that have such a distinct identity, you can leave some blanks (to be filled in to fit what you are trying to communicate) and people still get the reference.    I don’t think I have ever played Mad Libs, but I bet I would enjoy it because it is built around phrasal templating (is that a word?).    Here are some I like (and yes, I actually threw all of these into this image via www.picnik.com).

Give me some for my collection.

Oops..I see one of them on there twice.