Definition:
A trite expression, often a figure of speech whose effectiveness has been worn out through overuse and excessive familiarity.
See also:
- What Are Clichés and Why Are We Supposed to Avoid Them?
- Blurred Word
- Catchphrase
- Chunk
- Cliché Sites
- Collocation
- Dead Metaphor
- Flotsam Phrases
- Idiom
- In Praise of Clichés, by Wright Morris
- Journalese
- Malaphor
- Myles na Gopaleen Catechism of Cliché
- Snowclone
- 200 Words That Tick You Off
- Vogue Word
Etymology:
From the French, "stereotype plate"Examples and Observations:
- Live and learn.
- Stay the course.
- What goes around comes around.
- "That's the way with these directors: they're always biting the hand that lays the golden egg."
(Samuel Goldwyn) - Reginald Perrin: Well, we meet in altered circumstances, CJ.
CJ: We do indeed.
Reginald Perrin: The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.
CJ: I couldn't put it better myself.
Reginald Perrin: The night is darkest before the storm.
CJ: Precisely. I didn't get where you are today without knowing that the night is darkest before the storm.
Reginald Perrin: Now tell me, CJ. Do you think you can work happily with me as your boss?
CJ: If you ask me a straight question, I'm going to give you a straight answer. I've always taken great pains not to talk in clichés. A cliché to me is like a red rag to a bull. However, there's an exception that proves a rule, and there is a cliché which fits my situation like a glove.
Reginald Perrin: And that is?
CJ: Necessity is the mother of intention. In other words, Reggie, I am forced to consider working for you.
(David Nobbs, The Return of Reginald Perrin. BBC, 1977) - "Our writers are full of clichés just as old barns are full of bats. There is obviously no rule about this, except that anything you suspect of being a cliché undoubtedly is one and had better be removed."
(Wolcott Gibbs) - "Shortly after returning from his tour of the Near East, Anthony Eden submitted a long-winded report to the Prime Minister on his experiences and impressions. [Winston] Churchill, it is told, returned it to his War Minister with a note, 'As far as I can see you have used every cliché except "God is love" and "Please adjust your dress before leaving."'"
(Life, Dec. 1940. Churchill denied that the story was true.) - "I sailed through a logjam of dead literary clichés: snow-capped peaks above, fathomless depths below; and, in the middle of the picture, the usual gaunt cliffs, hoary crags, wild woods and crystal cascades."
(Jonathan Raban, Passage to Juneau) - "It is a cliché that most clichés are true, but then like most clichés, that cliché is untrue."
(Stephen Fry, Moab Is My Washpot, 1997) - "Some clichés were quite apt when first used but have become hackneyed over the years. One can hardly avoid using the occasional cliché, but clichés that are inefficient in conveying their meaning or are inappropriate to the occasion should be avoided."
(M. Manswer, Bloomsbury Good Word Guide, 1988) - Q: Mr. Arbuthnot, you are an expert in the use of the cliché as applied to matters of health and ill health, are you not?
A: I am.
Q: In that case, how do you feel?
A: Oh, fair to middling. I suppose. I can't complain.
Q: You don't sound so awfully chipper.
A: What's the use of complaining? I hate people who are always telling their friends about their ailments. O-o-h!
Q: What's the matter?
A: My head. It's splitting. . . .
Q: Have you taken anything?
A: I've taken everything but nothing seems to do me any good.
Q: Maybe you're coming down with a cold.
A: Oh, I always have a cold. I'm subject to colds.
Q: There's certainly quite a lot of 'em around.
A: You know, I'm supposed to say that. I'm the cliché expert around here, not you.
(Frank Sullivan, "The Cliché Expert Doesn't Feel Well." Frank Sullivan at His Best, Dover, 1996)
Pronunciation: klee-SHAY
