The definition of a cliché is something that has become overly familiar or commonplace. It’s easy to get complacent and comfortable in your work, especially if ratings are good and corporate is happy.

If that seems harsh, think of how clichés harm writing, draw unwelcome attention, replace freshness with staleness and rob readers of the pleasure of original expressions that make writing memorable.

Source: “Thinking It Over,” by Thomas Waterman Wood, 1884, FP - XIX - W8792, no. 2, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. Much of the advice we receive consists of ...

I ’ve always been fond of the ordinary, homespun cliché. But I chafe at its more rarefied cousins, the catchphrases of critical theory as they mellow into middle age: “the male gaze,” “Orientalism,” ...

Q—To be sure. In your official capacity as a cliché expert, from what kind of source do you get your information? A—From a reliable source. A—Either in the negative or in the affirmative. Q—When a ...

SINGAPORE (Reuters Life!) - They're every editor's nightmare, those banal, trite, overused expressions for absolutely everything that often say absolutely nothing. But are clichés really as simple as ...

In their abecedarian days, all writers are taught to abhor clichés. (Of course, this hasn't stopped them from using clichés like there was no tomorrow.) "Exhausted tropes, numb descriptors, zombie ...