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…

Ozzy Osbourne

Ozzy is a name venerated by hard-rockers, Satan-lickers, obscenity-spewers, and bat-munchers.

As a young lad in Catholic school, I’ll never forget how we used to gather outside at recess, hurling balls at the building, while yelling “Hit the cross if you love Ozzy!”

Ah, to be young and ball-throwing again!

Besides proving fodder for childhood memories and demonic ceremonies, the big double-O has been part of a metric Ozz-load of comparisons, like so:

“Latvian farmers are the Ozzy Osbourne of European agriculture.“

(Feb. 4, 2009, Foreign Policy)

“Triple Exultation
(Eel River Brewing; Fortuna, Calif.)
A dark amber ‘old ale’ like those you’d find emanating from the crustiest old casks in England, this is a sweet, super-hoppy, and ancient-tasting beer, and the booziest the bash had on offer. Eel River, America’s first organic brewery, calls it ‘the Ozzy Osbourne of Old Ales.’ If by that they mean that both Ozzy and Triple Exultation are 9.7 percent alcohol by volume, they’re certainly right.”

(Nov. 13, 2008, D.R. Foster, Decider New York)

“Bill is acting like the Ozzy Osbourne of the software industry.  No more tours anyone?”

(July 1, 2008, PC Magazine Discussions)

“John McCain is the Ozzy Osbourne of politics. The heavy metal demigod sold his soul for rock `n’ roll. McCain held out for a much better offer.”

(Feb. 17, 2008, Jonathan Berr, Huffington Post)

“This Let’s Rock candle is truly the Ozzy Osbourne of candles. Or the Motorhead of candles. Or the Iron Maiden of candles. Or the Whitesnake of candles. Or… well, you get the picture – it’s a candle for rock gods, and also you. It comes in a range of bright colours, including black, black and, er, black. Henry Ford would approve; Ozzy, Lemmy and co would obviously accept nothing less.”

(Feb. 27, 2007, Brandish)

“True, ‘Pistol’ Pete wasn’t exactly the Ozzy Osbourne of tennis, but at least he smiled occasionally. Henman has never once so much as cracked a grin. I’ve heard some refer to Henman as ‘Tiger Tim’. Give me a break…”

(Jan. 9, 2007, BBC)

“One of its biggest shareholders, Saudi Arabia’s Prince al-Waleed bin Talal, is said to be unhappy with the bank’s performance while a tongue-in-cheek online survey called it the ‘Ozzy Osbourne’ of the banking world — both are growing old disgracefully.”

(Sept. 17, 2006, Margareta Pagano, Times Online)

“A man who decapitated his parrot in a drunken rage was jailed for five-and-a-half months yesterday after a magistrate branded him ‘the Ozzy Osbourne of Wolverhampton’.”

(July 19, 2005, The Guardian)

“Michel Houellebecq may have been guilty, but I’m still glad he was acquitted. The award-winning novelist, who has been dubbed ‘a literary Eminem’ and ‘the Ozzy Osbourne of modern French letters,’ stood accused of inciting religious hatred, an offense that in France carries a sentence of up to 18 months. The evidence against him consisted of derogatory remarks about Islam.”

(Oct. 25, 2002, Jacob Sullum, Reason Magazine)

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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