Stuck for something to write on a t-shirt?

Don't want a t-shirt that says the same thing as a million other people, or just want to make a point, but aren't sure how to fit it on a T-shirt, well we have some ideas.

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The funniest t-shirts on the web

Snowclones

The encyclopedia Wikipedia describes snowclones as

"a neologism used to describe a type of formula-based cliche which uses an old idiom in a new context"

and goes on to describe it as a tool used by lazy Journalists. But to you (and me) it is a quick way of taking a tired out phrase, changing a couple of words, and creating an amusing t-shirt.

By judicious use of a well picked basic phrase you can readily wind-up, impress or get a Fatwa issued. What is more you can get your Fatwa without boring the pants of people with 200 word long sentences, or writing a book that no one you know has finished reading.

An example will make it clear:

Basic Phrase

What would Jesus do?

becomes, with a little branding an instant t-shirt sales slogan:

Of course with this basic slogan, almost everything you do will offend Christians, but unexpectedly you could use it to ingratiate yourself with individuals, or identify with a specific group. Varying the noun is much more flexible here.

What would RMS do?

What would Buddha do?

What would Bush do?

But hey why stop when we can offend more people with the original proper noun:

Who would Jesus do?

Snowclones work because they are instantly familiar, but they work best when you pick a slightly edgy or controversial source, or turn a less controversial quote more challenging with an appropriate change.

Sources for Inspiration

Okay, so now you think your going to set the world alight with witty snowclones, but you can't find the right phrase to start with. Well modern culture isn't light on sources.

Books and Films

Books familiar to a lot people, or at least familiar to the people you want to send a message to, even if the message is only "I'm one of you". The Bible permeates popular culture, even amongst atheists, so lets try a biblical quotation:

Jesus Wept

And some people with instantly recognisable names.

Sartre Wept

Marx Wept

Perhaps a bit weak as it doesn't conjure up enough meaning.

The science fiction fans will have already seen a film referenced snowclone in the first heading on this page, which references Star Wars. Some argue that it is a misquote, and so should be classed under Eggcorn or Mondegreen. Although sometimes a film quotation are good enough to use unaltered, like Hellraiser's;

Come here, damn you. I want to touch you.

Traffic Signs, Error Messages

Don't ignore words and phrases all around us.

Innocuous looking phrases like "Press any key", "Men at work", "404 not found" have all been put to good use on t-shirts and in jokes in the past. We probably want something a little longer

0x800CC12 
T-Shirt not customised. 
Insufficient Resource cash.

Traffic signs work best if you can copy the original font, colours and layout. Fortunately that is just the kind of thing that governments like to document.

Advertisements

Alas our shared cultural experience also includes exposure to adverts. One of the first advert spoofs I remember was Exeter University, who took the Carlberg claim to be "Probably the best lager in the world" (okay I couldn't find a copy of that one), and did a bumper sticker in the same logo, claiming "Exeter, probably the best University in the world". It was lovingly reproduced in white on green, with a nice curly font, and in 1987 or so when I first saw it this was amusing. Alas new students still turn up, who haven't seen it before and still feel the need to put it in the back of their cars. The moral here, if you can't come up with original product ideas, come up with new punters.

Again the ability to copy style and font, adds a lot when using an advert as the basis of a t-shirt design. Although not all of us have the skills, and if it is witty enough people won't notice.

The Debian UK crowd have done some particularly good advertisement based spoof t-shirts in their time.

click the image above to see some more, and buy some.

Don't forget the Back

The back of a t-shirt is an ideal place for a gentle send-up. Or even to reveal you aren't as bigoted as the front suggests.

Debian (a computer operating system) users are often accused of trying to solve every problem with the command "apt-get". Leading to a set of t-shirts saying "apt-get install life", suggesting those without the "apt-get" tool are missing out. The back of a t-shirt is an ideal place for a gentle send-up.

# apt-get install life

subverting this with the obvious (well if you use Debian) response on the back

E: Couldn't find package life