How to analyze the trope "because NOUN" grammatically

Solution 1:

By request, an elaboration of my comments above.

Because has usually been treated as a subordinating conjunction. It can introduce tensed clauses of all kinds, indicating that they are involved in some way prior to some phenomenon or event.

• He went because I asked him to.
• We bought it because what else were we going to do?

Like many such conjunctions, it can be used to introduce a noun phrase (thus making it a preposition), but up until recently, when because was used as a preposition, an auxiliary preposition of was required, unlike other conjunctions like after or before, which don't require auxiliaries to be used when they have an NP object.

• I went because my job requires me to. ~ I went because of my job. (of required)
• I left before they had the accident. ~ I left before the accident. (of ungrammatical)

But recently people have taken to dropping the auxiliary of with because, though not with other conjunctions that take of as prepositions, like in spite, but only in some contexts:

• This seems extremely unlikely, because physics.
• *I had to go, because my job.

Because seems to be in the process of changing from a requisite conjunction to an optional preposition. As usual, this involves different people trying out different constructions at different times and in different contexts to hear how they like it. Enough people now appear to be liking it that official notice has been taken. Because was the 2013 Word of the Year, as determined by the American Dialect Society and the Linguistic Society of America at their annual meeting.

Solution 2:

We can see how idiomatic the following are:

1A: “Why do I have to do this?”

B: “Because if you don’t, the end will fall off"

B(i) “Because the boss told you to.”

B(ii) “Because when the iron gets hot, it expands.”

B(iii) Because that is the way it has always been done."

The above actually give an answer but a variation developed on this theme:

2A: “Why do I have to do this?”

B: “Because of the end.”

B(i) “Because of the boss.”

B(ii) “Because of the science.”

B(iii) Because of the tradition"

This is only a partial answer: B will either be able to complete it themselves or ask a further question.

(A further abbreviation of the clause developed on this theme:

In frustration, usually at numerous pointless questions, a common answer became

B(iv) “Because!” which implied “Don’t ask questions, just do it!”)

But B(iv) is a side development, and the original clause has reached the point where the clause has been reduced to “Because” + the essential idea:

3A: “Why do I have to do this?”

B: “Because end.”

B(i) “Because boss.”

B(ii) “Because science.”

B(iii) “Because tradition.”

So the 3B variations are merely a reduced clauses.