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…

Elvis Impersonators

Normally, I won’t do one of these columns unless I can find at least ten examples right off the bat. Without a bunch of examples to choose from, how can I cull the kind of gems readers expect, such as “the Kurt Cobain of the Philippine call center industry” and “the Britney Spears of meerkat moms”?

But sometimes, lack of evidence is trumped by potential usefulness of a phrase that deserves and demands wider use, which brings me to “The Elvis impersonator of X.” Saying that your co-worker, nemesis, or beloved spouse is the Elvis impersonator of your bowling league or death cult makes the kind of clear, vivid statement that is so hard to find in these days of soft, mushy language and oatmeal.

So get out and use this expression. I’m going to use it today on my nemesis, Dr. Vargas, who is clearly the Elvis impersonator of evil masterminds who still bathe with rubber duckies. Damn him!

“The bottom line is this. Miracle Whip is the Elvis impersonator of sandwich spreads. It takes the worst of mayo’s career and parades it around in diamond studded leather jackets and smells funnier than it should. No one likes an intrusive and annoyingly inaccurate Elvis impersonator, am I right? Maybe that will help those of you that don’t share my distaste to understand the feeling I get when I see Miracle Whip.”

(Nov. 28, 2008, Raleightively Speaking,)

“Style is about being ‘classifiable’ and ‘recognisable’ – hopefully in a good way! It’s a trademark, a ‘brand’, it’s your artistic avatar. It’s developmental, it’s unique. It can not be learned, so don’t even bother to try looking for quick solutions. If you want a ’style by numbers’ then you are going to be the Elvis impersonator of the art world!”

(Feb. 13, 2008, Nicole Cadet, Part Time Painter)

“The accordion is the Elvis impersonator of the instrument world.”

(July 12, 1997, Tamara Jones, Washington Post)

“Romano, justly famous and a long a staple of foodstuff in ITalian cuisine, and indeed across the world, is a rock-hard, super-sharp, sheep’s milk cheese used mainly for grating over pasta. But the American version, also hard and used mainly for grating, is the Elvis impersonator of cheeses.”

(1996, Stephen W. Jenkins, Cheese Primer, p. 382)

“In article cm…@ncoast.org (Christopher Morton) writes: 
>Chomsky is the Elvis impersonator of political science and deserves to be 
>treated as such.”

(May 21, 1993, Bertil Jonell, http://groups.google.com/group/alt.activism/msg/4091734328a7a825?hl=en)

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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