X is the Y of Z

“X is the Y of Z” is a snowclone–an adaptable, Mad Libs-like idiom like “May I compare thee to an X?”, “X is the new Y,” and “I for one welcome our new X overlords.” This snowclone touches on every subject imaginable, including music. So without further adieu, today’s topic is…

Keith Richards

Keith Richards is more than the writer of a bazillion songs, the butt of two bazillion jokes, and the possessor of umpty-bazillion dollars: he’s a vital part of preposterous, brain-boggling comparisons that people make every day, such as:

“Bob of Acme Rocket Bike has just put in the biggest order ever for Sideburn stuff (from a private individual). Mags, T-shirts, stickers, the lot.
Bob, we love you.
Bob is the Keith Richards of bike modification.
He’s The Big Lebowski’s Dude for the Ducati Corse crowd.
And he has these beautiful posters made that he gives to the owners of his limited edition bikes. Class act.”

(Sept. 16, 2008, Sideburn)

“Stefan Sagmeister is like the Keith Richards of billboard concepts. Or the Sid Vicious of poster and business card designs.”

(Aug. 9, 2008, Scott Kara, The New Zealand Herald)

“Patrick is the Keith Richards of the professional eating circuit. Patrick wishes he could blame it on the groupies, but he doesn’t think he can. He needs to hone eating hamburgers before his next competition.”

(Aug. 8, 2008, Steve Dahl, Stever’s Digest)

“So I wrote about my dog Minnie in a previous blog, and I can’t play favorites, so it is now cat time. I have three cats, who I love to death, but one of the three holds a special place in my heart. His name is Milo, and he is what I lovingly refer to as, the Keith Richards of the cat world. Milo came to me almost eight years ago, when I was living in Miami. Someone decided to leave him and three of his siblings in a five gallon bucket filled partially with paint, in front of a pet store. One look at the little runt, who was the size of a rat, and my heart melted. He was going to be mine.”

(June 26, 2008, Sixthman)

“Okay, is it just me or did it look tonight like Goldberg had been locked in a hotel room for one week straight snorting cocaine and drinking liquor? Did anyone else notice his frizzled, fried hair and bags under his eyes? He looked like the Keith Richards of sports commentating. LOL.”

(May 25, 2008, Ultimate Fighter Forum)

“Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory has hired the Keith Richards of the North Carolina Republican Party.”

(Feb. 13, 2008, The News & Observer)

“Britney Spears will be the Keith Richards of washed-up teen starlets. You’ve no doubt heard her ridiculous, fake English accent…”

(Jan. 22, 2008, nothing more, nothing less)

Mark Peters is a language columnist and humorist who writes for Good, Visual Thesaurus and other mags, while maintaining too many blogs, including Wordlustitude, The Rosa Parks of Blogs, and The Pancake Proverbs.

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