(Originally Published in The Providence Sunday Journal 4/27/97)
I once had an English teacher, a soft spoken lady, who in a one-on one dead-serious heart-to-heart talk warned me to avoid cliches like the plague. She was a remarkable teacher, head and shoulders above the rest, and although a lot of water has gone under the bridge since she taught me a thing or two about writing, quite frankly I have a bone to pick with her sagely advice.
By definition a cliche is a trite or overused expression. Granted, most of them don't contain a grain of sense or amount to a hill of beans and are as dull as dish water. Most aren't worth a plug nickel. But there are many that still hit the nail on the head. Despite their heavy duty use they continue to strike pay dirt. Although worn to a frazzle they remain on the tip of our tongue. It's been an uphill battle, and a tough row to hoe, but they've toed the line, stubborn as any mule stuck in the mud.
A reason for that is that many cliches are proverbs. Bits of wisdom from past decades, still ripe for the picking, still in the pink, still plain as day. Maybe I'm bananas and should go climb a tree, but allow me to bend your ear a moment: next time you come across a worn out phrase don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Play it by ear and put your nose to the grindstone. You may have to scratch below the surface, but I guarantee if you play your cards right you'll find a little wisdom there -- bright as a button, sharp as a tack, and as plain as the nose on your face.
At first blush it might not seem like much, so don't go counting your chickens before they hatch. Bide your time. Have a little faith. Remember, wonders never cease. Seek out that dew drop of distilled wisdom. Go whole hog! Reexamine those tired old phrases. Beat around the bush until the crow flies between the devil and the deep blue sea. Keep a stiff upper lip and remember: It's all in a days work, all in the eye of the beholder. And when it comes to wisdom, isn't half a loaf better than none?
© Bob Thurber
http://bobthurber.net
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Comments: 9
A real hot tomato of a story.
I laughed like there was no tomorrow.
I am tickled pink laughing out load about this funny yet serious look at cliche.
It's obvious you have your eye on the ball, your shoulder to the wheel and your nose to the grindstone.
And we all know how difficult it is to work in that position.
Keep your tongue firmly in your cheek and send some more chuckles our way.
Plainly I Have Arrived
So hard to come
so far to
remember me
I bought you
bottles of perfume
of wine, but
the terrorists made me
lose them at the airport
I flew here myself -- oh
are my arms fatigued
from flapping to
bring you me
without portfolio, so
pour me out,
disarm me
to charm me
while I undress my
stress in your arms
and remember love
Bob, I think you are very right, the problem with most "how to write" advice is that they're too general and do not take into account the most important thing: what it is you want to say... That said, there is a difference between the humorous use of cliches in your article and in all the comments, and when someone is trying to write a tear-jerker and express some deep tragic feeling and uses nothing but cliches. It's that situation, I think, that the "avoid cliches" advice addresses.