I was reading a book this morning and I came across the phrase "the mists of time". As always I felt a frisson of pleasure. It's one of the many clichés that strike me as intensely poetic.
What is a cliché, anyway? We can't be entirely original with every utterance. Why is it OK to use an idiom and not a cliché? What's the difference?
There are some clichés I just hate, such as "life-hack" and "bucket list". (The critique in the link is from Professor Bruce Charlton.) But that's not so much because they're clichés. I hate them because they're so inelegant and banal.
I'm not saying we should always speak in clichés. I'm defending the use of clichés that are especially poetic.
Here's some of my favourites. I know I've mentioned many of them before, in other posts. But what the heck.
The morning after the night before.
A walk down memory lane.
The wit and wisdom of...
Till the cows come home.
The dead of night.
The back of beyond (and the middle of nowhere).
The cold light of day.
Calling a pub a "hostelry", "tavern", or other jokey name.
The last chance saloon (much loved by sports commentators).
Dreaming spires (of academia).
In at the deep end.
As old as Father Time.
The best thing since sliced bread. (What did they say before sliced bread?)
A bumpy ride.
Goes to the movies (as in the titles of innumerable books: Stephen King Goes to the Movies, Philosophy Goes to the Movies, etc. etc.)
The silver screen.
The stroke of midnight.
I'm sure I'll think of more, and add to this post
A common feature of all these favourite clichés of mine is that they are (in my view) aesthetically pleasing, both in the sounds of the words and in the image they use. I don't like clichés that are coarse or grotesque. For instance, instead of using "the back of beyond" or "the middle of nowhere", people increasingly seem to use phrases such as "the armpit of Ireland"-- or even a part of the body even less pleasant than the armpit. I think that's yukky and not at all something to be encouraged.
I also dislike venerable clichés such as "I have my eyes peeled", clichés that are not aesthetically appealing and don't conjure up a pleasing image.
The pleasure I take from clichés actually enriches my life. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and think to myself: "This is the dead of night", which fills me with pleasure. And, on a lazy morning after an eventful day, I relish the phrase "the morning after the night before". (I barely drink so it doesn't really apply to me in the sense of a hangover or a night of carousing.)
i too love clichés, and idioms in general. for the sound and image, of course, but perhaps more importantly for me as a writer because they can be so easily used as a springboard for inventive description. to give an example i used once: the furthest edge of nowhere. it still works without knowing the original it is a play on, but it's so much sweeter with the long cultural context that makes it a cliché. and so it is with all the others.
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