Appendix:Snowclones/if Eskimos have N words for snow, X have Y words for Z

English edit

Etymology edit

From a popular urban legend that (since they live in circumpolar regions) the "Eskimos" (Inuit) must have myriad words to refer to different types of snow (see Eskimo words for snow). First mentioned in 1911.

Phrase edit

if Eskimos have N words for snow, X have Y words for Z

(snowclone) Used to suggest by analogy that X has frequent interaction with Z or spends substantial time thinking about Z. Often used with other language, country or region stereotypes.
- 2003 October 11, “Breathe or be strangled”, in The Economist‎^[1], page 56:
  If Eskimos have dozens of words for snow, Germans have as many for bureaucracy.
- 2003, Claudia Marek, The First Year—Fibromyalgia: An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed‎^[2], →ISBN:
  If Eskimos have a hundred words for snow, fibromyalgics should have a hundred words for pain.
- 2014 September 9, “The Awkward Age”, in The New Yorker‎^[3]:
  As the Eskimos were said to have seven words for snow, today’s Americans have a near-infinite vocabulary for gradations of awkwardness[.]

Statistics edit

Frequency: Average (between 100,000 and 250,000 Google results)

Usage notes edit

This phrase was the inspiration behind the term "snowclone." As demonstrated by the examples above, it is subject to many variations in specific phrasing. In some cases it may be inverted to suggest an inadequacy of terms to describe a diverse phenomenon, as in this example:

1992 May 24, Robert Sherman, “Defining Identity: Four Voices; Lousy Language”, in The New York Times‎^[4]:
The Eskimos have 70 words for snow. We probably have 70 different kinds of bias, prejudice, racism and discrimination, but it's not in our mind-set to be clear about it.