Clichés
Avoiding Clichés and Writing the Modern Way
Cliche's are expressions which were once colorful and original but have been used too frequently and thus have lost all their newness and effectiveness. They're akin to platitudes.
Every expression which is overused in a particular field becomes a cliché in that field. Consequently, there are clichés in almost every field of knowledge and work—in business, in film industry, in games and others.
Some clichés of the English language are as follows.
Abdicating our responsibilities
accidentally on purpose
according to plan
act of contrition
acid test
add insult to injury
all at sea
all in the same boat
all over bar the shouting
all things considered
almost too good to be true
arms of Morpheus
angel of mercy
angry silence
as black as coal/ink
as blind as a bat
as bold as a lion.
as busy as a bee
as cold as ice
as cunning as a fox
as dead as a dodo
as deaf as a post
as free as a bird
as fresh as a rose
as gay as a lark
as gentle as a lamb
as hard as iron/rock/steel
as heavy as lead
as hoarse as a crow
as light as air
as light as a feather
as luck/fate would have it
as sure as eggs is eggs
at the end of the day
at this point in time at your peril
auspicious occasion avid reader
Bad omens
bag and baggage
ball and chain (marital)
barometer of the economy
bat an eyelid
batten down the hatches
battle lines being drawn
beavering away
between a rock and a hard place
between the Devil and the deep blue sea
beware the Greek bearing gifts
(the) bird has flown
bit of a bombshell
blanket coverage
bleed them white
blind drunk.
blind leading the blind
blinkered view
blissful harmony
blissful ignorance
(my) blood boiled
blood out of a stone
bloody but unbowed
blot on the landscape
blow the whistle
(it) bodes ill
bored to death
(the) bubble burst
borrowed time
brought to book
bruising battle/encounter
bumper-to-bumper traffic jams
burden of proof but I digress
Call of the wild
call the shots/tune
callow youth
calm before the storm.
came in from the cold
camp as a row of tents
captive audience
card up his sleeve
cards stacked against
cardinal sin
carrot-and-stick treatment
carte blanche cast of thousands
cast the first stone
(given a) clean bill of health
catalogue of misfortune/misery
cat among the pigeons
Catch-22 situation
catholic taste cauotic comment
cautious optimism
centre of his universe
chain of events
(as different as) chalk and cheese
chapter and verse
cherished belief
chew the cud
chew the cud
chew the fat
chip off the old block
chop and change
chorus of approval/disapproval
chosen few
come to the crunch
complete and utter candour
compulsive viewing
conspicuous by his absence
consummation devoutly to be wished
cool as a cucumber
cool, calm and collected copious notes
crack of dawn
crisis of confidence
cup of sorrow runneth over current climate
cut any ice
Damn with faint praise
Dark Continent
dark horse
dark secret
deadly accurate
deafening silence
deaf to entreaties
deep gloom
depths of depravity
despite misgivings
devour every word
dicing with death
dirty raincoat brigade.
doom and gloom merchants
drives me up the wall
(wearing the) Dunce's cap
Eagerly devour
enjoy the fleshpots (to my)
eternal shame
eternally in your/my/their debt
eternal regret
evening of our lives
every man jack of them
every stage of the game
Face the music
fair sex
feed the Inner Man
few and far between
(the) final insult
fine-tooth comb
finger in every pie finger of suspicion
fit as a fiddle
follow like sheep fond belief
fraught with danger/peril frenzy of activity
fresh fields and pastures new
fudge the issue
Generous to a fault
gentle giant gentler sex
glowing tribute
golden opportunity
go to the ends of the earth
ground to a halt
green with envy
guardian angel
Hand-to-mouth existence
happy accident
happy medium happily/comfortably ensconced
having said that heaping ridicule
hear and soul
hell hath no fury
(come) hell or high water
high and dry
hit the panic button
hive of activity
Hobson's choice
hoist with his own petard
horns of a dilemma
horses for courses
howling gale/tempest
Ill-gotten gains ill-starred venture
(the) impossible dream
inch-by-inch search
inordinate amount of
it seemed an eternity
it will all end in tears
(one/not one) iota
I must fly
Just not on
Keep your head above water
keep your own counsel
knocked into a cocked hat
lavish ceremony/banquet/hospitality/praise little the wiser
Lack-lustre performance
large as life
leave no stone unturned
leave no avenue unexplored
level playing field lick his wounds
little local difficulty
living in the Dark Ages
long arm of the law.
long hot summer lost cause
lost in admiration
lost in contemplation
love you and leave you
Made of sterner stuff
make a killing
man of straw circumlocution
more honoured in the breach than in the observance
method in his madness Midas touch
(the) mind boggles
mixed blessing (worse still, not an unmixed blessing-see
(a) model of its kind
more in sorrow than in anger
more sinned against than sinning
mortgaged up to the hilt
move the goalposts
much-needed reforms
Necessity is the mother of invention
no peace for the wicked
not a scrap of evidence
not to put too fine a point upon it
Offer he couldn't refuse
operative word
own worst enemy
older and wiser olive branch
one fell swoop
Package of measures
painstaking investigation
palpable nonsense
part and parcel path of virtue
pinpoint accuracy
plain as a pikestaff
press on regardless
prime candidate
plain as the nose on your face
poison/ed chalice
pomp and circumstance
pure as the driven snow (when/if)
push comes to shove
Resounding silence rings a bell
roll out the red carpet
rose between two thorns
ruffled feathers
(one) rotten apple in a barrel
Sale of the century
search high and low
set in stone
shake the dust from their feet
seething cauldron
ring The Modern War
shot across the bows
simmering hatred
skin of our teeth
snatch defeat from the jaws of victory
snatch victory from the jaws of defeat
solid as a rock
sorely needed isolation
splendid spoken for
standing ovation
stick to our guns
steady as a rock
stir up a hornets nest
straight and narrow
strain every nerve
strange as it may seem
strange to relate
strapping great fellow
straw that broke the camel's back
strike a chord
stuff and nonsense
suffer in silence
suffer fools gladly
sugar the pill
Tarred with the same brush
technological wizardry
tender mercies
there, but for the grace of God
this day and age
thunderous applause
time files
time heals all ills/wounds
time waits for no man
(in a) time warp
tip of the iceberg
tireless campaigner/crusader
tissue of lies
to all intents and purposes
to my dying day
to my utter chagrin
too awful/terrible/horrible to contemplate
too many cooks
torrential rain
towering inferno
tower of strength
Utter bilge
ultra-sophisticated
(take an) unconscionable time
unequal task
up to his neck in bebt/in it
Wages of sin
wash my hands of it
(all) water under the bridge
wealth of evidence/experience/knowledge/material
whisked to hospital
wedded bliss
welter of evidence
wheels within wheels
(idea/man/political party) whose time has come
winter of discontent
with a vengeance
without a shadow of doubt
without fear of contradiction
wringing of hands
Dictionaries of cliche's, however, are available. It's a good practice to consult such a list or dictionary while editing or revising the writing to ensure that such worn-out expressions aren't used frequently, if ever.
So, should such expessions die unsused?-you might ask. Actually, they're already dead. Yet it's not that you can't use them at all. You can. Sparingly. And it's best to limit their use in conversations in stories, novels, dramas, and cases.
One interesting point. Those whose mother tongue is not English or those who don't learn English as the first language can't perceive these expressions as clichés. To them such expessions don't seem to be old and colorless. In other words, they can't simply understand that these expressions are clichés. It's because there is nothing in clichés to be understood; rather, they're to be felt and experienced. If something is not used at all, how can it be overused? So it's best for non-English-speakers to refer to lists e the above one or other dictionaries, to ensure that clichés don't creep in while they write something.
With time and owing to too much use, proverbs, epigrams, or other pithy quotations also become clichés.
The following are some examples.
Fools rush in (where angels fear to tread.)
Lend me your ears.
Damn with faint praise
To be or not to be, etc.
Many formats and patterns of letter-writing and of public speeches have become clichés. For example:
Your letter is to hand. I beg to state that
I have the honor to state that
We attach herewith
May I draw your attention to
This is to notify all concerned that
I remain Sir
This is to certify that --
We, therefore, hope and pray that....
With due respect and humble submission we beg to state that
Under these circumstances...
No more today.
I solicit the hospitality of ...
These expressions have lost their newness and strength. Now taking a "typical" old-modeled letter in your hand, you can easily say (without reading it) what it begins and ends with. That means the format has become a "type" and so it's predictable. And predictability of a piece of writing is perhaps the worst flaw of it (if, however, it's not a routine work guided by a "prescribed" format such as memos, audit reports etc.). So, it's better not to use the above expressions in letters. Find out other ways to begin and end your letters. (You may, among other available books, consult "Writers' Grammar" by this author.)
The way you begin your letter, essay, or story can also be trite and as such can be called a cliché. Those days are gone when most stories were written with a beginning of this kind :
Once upon a time..
Stories for children are still being written with such a beginning, but it's limited to that purpose only. Again, letter-beginnings like the following are clichés :
We, the students of... beg most
We, the inhabitants of...
Take my cordial love...
Thank you for your letter.
Today I'm writing you with a heavy heart.
I received your letter in time. I am very glad to receive your letter on..
In response to your advertisement published in ... dated ...
With reference to your memo No ...
True, no cliché has been used in these beginnings. Why should we reject them, then? As a matter of fact, we should reject them simply because the types of the beginnings have become clichés Hundreds of thousands of letters have been and are still being written with such "typical" beginnings. So, it's time we rejected these patterns. Not that you can't use the above sentences in your letters. You can. But why in the beginning? Use them if you will but somewhere else. not in the beginning.
Student essays also tend to be "patterned" in the beginning as well as in the ending. Most often it's found that if students are asked to write an essay on any topic whatever, they start it off with a definition. But why such typed beginning always? There are some scientific and objective cases needing such a beginning. True. But those special cases should not govern all other cases. As with the beginning, so with the ending. Most letters end with :
No more today ...
I/we, therefore, hope and pray. I shall be obliged if you ...
Thanking you...
So, that's the end of the story ...
Thanking you in advance ...
These expressions are used all too often. So, it's better not to use them frequently, if ever.
Like phrases, expressions, beginnings, and endings, ideas also can become clichés. And they do! So, watch out! Your greetings can also become clichés. So, be careful. Your manner of speaking and presentation can also become clichés. So, judge yourself. Judge others. Even, judge your judgments!
