Snowclones For T-Shirts: Smile If… (X)

by Michael Essek   ·   Updated: July 8, 2026

For several years I’ve been using the term ‘Plug-In Phrases’ to describe simple, fill-in-the-blank phrase templates.

Phrases like:

• Ask Me About (X)
• I’d Rather Be (X)
• Introverted But Willing To Talk About (X) 

I’ve written about them extensively – including many emails giving examples of specific phrases, exactly how to use them, why they work etc etc.

It’s one of my favourite ways to generate new, funny ideas – and this method is responsible for my all-time bestselling design.

‘Plug-In Phrases’ was my own terminology – it made sense to me because all you have to do is ‘plug-in’ a related word into an existing phrase. 

Well there’s another term: ‘Snowclone’.

This refers to pretty much exactly the same thing; a cliched or adaptable phrase with a ‘blank’ (or multiple blanks) somewhere in there. This term has been around since 2004 – it has a wikipedia entry and everything.

So rather than muddy the waters by continuing to use ‘Plug-In Phrases’ exclusively, I’ve decided to start using the term ‘Snowclones‘ too.

For example – I’ve just put together a collection of my favourite Snowclones in a new eBook – called: Snowclones For T-Shirt Designers.

And today I’ll share one example from that book – the snowclone:

Smile If… (X)

Examples:

It’s a solid framework for T-Shirts – because it ‘instructs’ the reader to do something (in this case – smile) – and ‘breaks the fourth wall’ (it’s not just a phrase on a shirt – it’s inviting or ‘forcing’ interaction between wearer and watcher).

The easiest ‘completion’ would be an adjective or label related to your topic or niche, eg:

• Adjective: Smile If You’re… ( depressed / drunk / green )
• Label: Smile If You’re A… ( liberal / conservative / graphic designer )

But there’s plenty more ways to adapt, eg:

• Smile If You Would… ( rather … / swipe right )
• Smile If You Think… ( hot dogs are sandwiches / dinosaurs rule )
• Smile If You Like… ( gardening / fencing / monster trucks )
• Smile If You Don’t Like… ( doing the dishes / the president )
• Smile If You’re… (doing particular activity / dismantling the patriarchy )

Examples from me:

• Smile If you still have teeth
• Smile If you’re thinking about the roman empire
• Smile If you’re no longer a danger to yourself or others
• Smile If the hat man is behind me / you can see it too
• Smile If your back hurts
• Smile If you stand with big tobacco
• Smile If smiling’s you’re favourite
• Smile If you believe in aliens

Simple, easy, flexible. 

Smile if you’re going to use this to come up with some original ideas.

---

I hope you found this helpful.

This is a sample chapter from my book ‘Snowclones For T-Shirt Designers’ – a book with 13 easy to use templates like this for funny, original T-Shirt ideas.