Snowclones

I was away all last week for work, so only got around to watching this episode on Sunday. When it aired I was busy marvelling at the number of vegan options available from a German supermarket in Koln, which included a meal replacement drinks brand called 'This is Food'. All I could think of when I saw it was the meme format popularised by the phrase 'My "Not involved in human trafficking" shirt has a lot of people asking questions already answered by the t-shirt'. The name of my meal replacement drinks brand has a lot of people asking questions already answered by the name of my meal replacement drinks brand.

Anyway, my research into the origins of this meme have revealed that this particular format is known as a snowclone. They are defined as 'a type of phrasal template in which certain words may be replaced with another to produce new variations with altered meanings', and the term was coined in 2003, ten years before the creation of the above example. A few of my favourite examples, listed on the website, are 'X is the Y of Z', and 'I, for one, welcome our new X Overlords'.

If I was the LeBron James of segues, then I'd have put a snowclone in this sentence, but let's get on with things; here's your first starter for X.

Neither of the two teams who have already qualified for the semi-finals are from Oxbridge. In fact, this match featured the only remaining colleges from either. Oxford bowed out before the quarter-finals (with only one side making the second round, which I hadn't noticed until now), and both Newnham and Jesus lost their opening quarter-finals. One of them will have a chance to make the semi-finals, but whatever happens, we could be looking at a first Oxbridge-less last four since 2007.

Kicking things off for Newnham, Ellis takes their first starter of the night with Adams, recognising the author of So Long and Thanks for all the Fish from a longer list of clues. A pair of bonuses followed, before Aggarwal got Jesus off the mark with Bangladesh.

Another for Ellis, then a bonus set including an incredibly easy question about bears, put Newnham clear again.

No one gets the picture starter. Chen guesses the International Association of Aviation, which isn't really a thing, and then Kaye tries to steal the points with the IATA, which is, and which Chen was probably thinking of, but he is wrong too, and the points roll over.

An unfortunate guess of FA Trophy rather than FA Vase on the next starter gave Ellis the chance to steal, but their guess of Minor Leagues Championship was to correct answers what the FA Vase is to the FA Cup. No matter though, because Ellis quickly wins another bonus set, this time on the astronomer Cecilia Payne-Gaposhkin. When Paxman says this name, Chen puts her hand on her heart as if she was a great hero of hers, though this could have just been coincidental editing

One of these bonuses is about Frank Drake, on whose eponymous equation I once wrote a discursive essay at school. I can't remember what the two sides of the discussion were, though presumably it related to the existence/non-existence of aliens.

By this point Newnham are seventy points clear, and a brilliant starter of skeumorphic from Aggarwal did little to stem the tide. Two more on the trot for Ellis, including a total guess of My Fair Lady on the music starter, served as a clear indication of the way this match was going. Some more inspired stabs in the dark on the music bonuses led Paxman to admit how much fun he was having watching them quiz. When Ellis wins yet more points by saying 'It's not going to be Gotland, is it?', you know it's not going to be Jesus' day.

With the game over as a contest, both teams have some fun racking up points in the final few minutes, amassing the highest combined score of the quarter-finals so far. Not that Jesus will care too much about that.

Newnham 215 - 115 Jesus

I don't know if I'll do tonight's episode tonight, because I have a self-imposed novel deadline, for which I foolishly handed out coupons to a pair of readers in December, coming up in a few days, so I have a lot of stuff to do for that.

For now, I'll just say that I, for one, welcome our new Newnham overlords.