By Abigail McGovern
“What a pain in the neck”…..”He’s bad to the bone”……”After all, there are plenty of fish in the sea”….”They were so skittish, they were afraid of their own shadow”
Do these sound familiar? If they do, that’s because you’ve seen them so many times, they no longer excite you. They’re clichés. In writing, the word cliché refers to common words and phrases that were originally meant to be unique, but have been used so much, that they lose their original meaning. Usually, writers try to use clichés for effect, such as replacing ‘her face turned pale’ with ‘her face turned white as a sheet’. However, most of the time when people are aiming for effect, they simply replace regular descriptions with clichés, and both their real meaning, and their effect becomes lost on us. They’re used so much, they become, for lack of a better phrase, boring. A sort of been there, done that type of thing. Seeing phrases that are meant to have special effects, being used so commonly that they’ve become boring just drives me up a wall.
Here is a list of the some of the most common clichés you often find in writing:
-Blind as a bat
-Early bird catches the worm
-Like a fish out of water
-Easy as pie
-Go with the flow
-Kill two birds with one stone
-Like taking candy from a baby
-Look what the cat dragged in
-Party pooper
-Quick as lightning
-Raining cats and dogs
-On thin ice
-Scared to death
-Takes one to know one
-Wild goose chase
Clichés are a dime a dozen- there a ton more, but for the sake of time, I chose ones you were sure to know.
What to Do Instead
I’m as guilty as anyone of using quite a lot of clichés in my writing. So my advice to you is, why beat around the bush? Remember, clichés have been said before, so most of the time, just say what you really mean. If you are simply describing something as it happens, then using longer sentences, with lots of imagery, and more descriptive word choices is the best way to go. The use of different, more original phrases actually tends to keep an audience’s interest longer than a phrase they’ve read and heard a million times before. Also, using more detailed, unique descriptions can often better prove the point that you want your audience to understand. A good way to do this, besides imagery, is to use other types of figurative language, such as personification, allusions, similes, and metaphors. Think of it like this: clichés are like flip phones. Something that was originally meant to be exciting and cool, but now are something that people find boring and obsolete.
So Does That Mean I Shouldn’t Ever Use Clichés?
If you like clichés, don’t get all bent out of shape. There are times when you can still use them, such as if you are trying to make something very clear, to show sharp contrast, or shock an audience, then I say, why not go the extra mile and use a cliché. But, only if you need it to show a very strong emotion or scenario. Clichés should only be used when you want a very strong effect. Only for extremes. For example, if you are going to use ‘just the tip of the iceberg’ to describe how complicated something is, then it should only be for a very dire situation, such as a time when absolutely everything is going as wrong as it possibly could. You could say “Our aunt died, we lost the ashes, and it’s going to rain. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.” Clichés however shouldn’t be used for simple situations, such as “I have to do history, chemistry, and english homework, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.” There are more creative ways you could describe a simple situation like that.
How to Avoid Using Clichés The Wrong Way
-Think about how important the situation is. Is it something especially strong, where a cliché may be used to produce a strong effect? If so, use one
-Is the emotion you want to evoke very strong? Then use one.
-If it’s simply a normal situation where you could better describe something in your own words, and you aren’t trying to gain any extra effect, forgo the cliché, and go with another literary device, or type of figurative language.
I hope that when you’re writing papers in the future, these tips come in handy! Just remember, when describing a situation, there’s more than one way to skin a cat! When trying to write a description without using a cliché, think of it like a math problem. There are lot’s of different angles to approach from. Haha! I’m sorry for the terrible joke, but seriously, I hope what you’ve learned here has come in handy.
He’s annoying as a mosquito…...He’s evil to his core…..There are billions more people out there, don’t worry, you’ll find the one for you…...He was so nervous, and on edge that every little thing made him jump.
Thanks for reading!
