Worn-out Phrases, and Long Engazes

Ha! You thought I was going to talk about unrequited love, or maybe the legacy of the Mamas and the Papas.  I just tacked on the last three words to throw you off.

Trite! Tired! Overused!  Can you spell C-L-I-C-H-E?

Expressions that have been written or said too many times should draw a penalty of some kind. A reader’s refusal to go any further? Termination of employment? Hanging by the thumbs in a newspaper office?

I’d better stop drinking this Nicaraguan coffee and slow down.

It is irritating, to some degree. to hear the same things over and over.

“Ya think?  From the get-go.  Long story short.  At the end of the day.   Don’t go there.  Too much on my plate.  Note to self.  That being said.  Quick question.”  (There never should be such a thing.)

“Not so much.  Twenty-four/seven.  Back in the day.  In the mix.  Outside the box.  I, for one.  Touch base with.  As well.” (That’s the worst.  I push for “too” and that’s it.  Would you agree, too?)

http://www.irishtimes.com

Expressing ourselves means we should probably make an effort to think up our own way to say things.  At least most of the time.  A future rumination here will center on the commonplace use of templates.

I do disagree with three “clichés” noted by one source.  They were (1) “Thank you.”  (2) “Let me get that for you.”  (3) “Please, you go first.”  When society starts classifying manners as cliché, we’re all in trouble.

If you don’t have something original to say, don’t say it.  Maybe I’d better rephrase that.

I’m thinking.