Phrases I Like

In a dreamy mood today. The problem with this blog being six years old (aside from the fact that it's remained so obscure) is that I can't keep track of what I've written already. I'm sure I've written about my favourite phrases already, probably more than once, so I'm sure many of these will be very familiar to regular readers. But what the heck. It's a pleasant subject. I think phrases are like little poems. Some are clichés, perhaps. I don't care. I like clichés.

Here are some of my favourites:

Softly falling snow. This is probably my favourite phrase of all time.

The cold light of day. Despite the fact that this phrase is supposed to be sobering, I find it lyrical and comforting.

Down memory lane. The first time I heard this phrase (or read it, more accurately) I was delighted by it. I'm no less delighted today.

The silver screen.

Till the cows come home. (I can remember when I first heard this, too-- my elder brother used it, though I don't remember the context.)

The dark side of the moon,

Blue moon. (Apparently, the song of this title was my mother's party piece.)

All human life is there.

The dead of night. (Dead of Night is also the name of one of my favourite horror films.)

Dead of winter.

The middle of nowhere. (And the back of beyond, but that's slightly less lyrical. Incidentally, it took me a shamefully long time to realize that Timbuctoo was a real place. I also thought it was Timbuck Two.)

Our daily bread.

In at the deep end. (I've always found this exciting, perhaps because the deep end of the pool seems so scary when you're a kid. Or maybe just because I Iove swimming pools.)

Burning the midnight oil. I imagine a window lit up when everything around it is dark.

This ain't my first rodeo. (I first heard this phrase in the movie Big Miracle.)

The last chance saloon. (In fact, "the last" anything nearly always makes an evocative phrase. "The last bus home" is an example.)

The old, old story. (I started writing a novel with this title, and wrote eight chapters.)

The greatest thing since sliced bread. (Do conservatives think new innovations are "the worst thing since sliced bread?")

The corridors of power. ("Corridor" is one of the most evocative words in the English language, in my view.)

The graveyard shift.

The night train. (A term I first encountered as the name of a late-night radio show.)

I'm sure there are many, many, many more, but I can't think of them right now.