Nothing To Write Home About

I’m talking about the humble, sometimes admired and often despised cliche.
Originally a French printing term, the cliche started life a hundred or so years ago in a completely different format. It was a block of semi-permanent printing that could easily be inserted into a document being readied for a printing press. It’s a noble origin that has, over time, come to mean something completely different. Today we know a cliche as a term that has lost its original meaning and impact thanks to overuse. Perhaps the cliche was once a novel, humorous and unique statement, eliciting laughs and acknowledgement of its wit from an audience. Today the tired old cliche is more likely cause listeners to sigh and roll their eyes in boredom than consider the user an intellectual, humorous person.
Cliches have been around for centuries, and they’re not about to go away. Whether we like them or not there is a place for them in the world of writing. Cliches can work very well in the comedy genre, especially when a twist is applied in a genial, unexpected sense. Take the rather hackneyed phrase: when in doubt, consult your inner child. This is a wonderful cliche because of the possibilities it offers the writer. It can be twisted to fit almost any situation. Here are a few examples:
Another cliche could be applied to provide an alternate ending: when in doubt… don’t! It’s better to stay silent and remain a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt!
A familiar catch line could be applied, particularly one synonymous with a service or a product, such as the Yellow Pages: when in doubt… let your fingers do the walking.
Proverbs have somehow avoided becoming cliches, because over time they’ve acquired a wise, solid reputation for being words of advice with their basis in common sense and logic. This makes them the perfect companion for cliches: when in doubt… remember; every dog has his day.
Another use for cliches is to create a bond between writer and reader. This works well in modern culture, a good example being the avid “Star Trek” fans known as “Trekkies” . Phrases like: “Beam me up, Scotty” and “to boldly go where no man has gone before” are synonymous with the television series. An episode of the cartoon series “Futurama” was titled “To Boldly Go Where No Fan Has Gone Before”, establishing an instant rapport with Trekkies all over the world. Similarly an episode of the world’s most popular carton series “The Simpsons” was titled “Homer Simpson – This is Your Wife”, a tribute to the famous television series of the 1970s and 1980s called “This Is Your Life”. This episode, written by British comedian Ricky Gervais, was based on the current reality television phenomenon, with a satirical take on shows like “Wife Swap” and “Trading Spouses”.
Another way cliches can be applied to writing is with the use of stereotypes – characters that can easily be identified with certain traits and situations. An example of this would be an insurance salesperson or used car dealer – in the word of cliched stereotypes both are slick, smooth-talking and well dressed characters that cannot be trusted. Another example is the colloquial description of the devil, with his horns, forked tail and pitchfork. Characters like these can be very useful for a writer, because the reader can instantly picture the character described as “the car salesman” . Such is the power of the cliche that the writer can embellish his character even further, applying a twist to the physical description to enhance the cliched stereotype. That oily salesperson could have a facial tic or greasy hair. He could stutter when he’s about to close a deal.
Regardless of these uses for it the general consensus is that cliches should be avoided in writing whenever possible. Such is the aversion to the cliche that there’s actually a phrase to counter its use: anti-cliche. It’s almost exactly the way comedians have been known to use the cliche. A famous example of twisting the cliche for embarrassment – “I wish the earth would open up and swallow me whole” – can be found in J R R Tolkien’s “Fellowship of the Ring” , when an embarrassed Frodo “falls through the floor” after slipping the ring onto his finger.
Critics say use of cliches makes writing dull and uninteresting, because most cliches are so well known readers will not absorb the detail it describes. Proofing or editing your own work will help identify cliches that have slipped through without warning, confirming just how insidious the cliche has become… many times we’re not even aware that we’ve used one!
Ask yourself if the phrase or word you’re considering is regularly used in casual conversation, the media and advertising? If the answer is yes then look for another way to express your words.
Replace one or more of the words in a cliche. Jilly Cooper once described a character as having a “French fry on his shoulder” , a classic and hilarious twist on the tired “a chip on his shoulder”.
Try to find a new way to write the cliche. Instead of using “the light at the end of the tunnel” consider something like “the light at the end of a damp, very long and extremely dark tunnel” .
Rewrite a traditional cliche to give it new meaning. “Many hands make many mistakes” is a humorous take on “many hands make light work” . It’s also a great way to use alliteration.
Use a thesaurus – but with care. Make sure the synonym selected will work with the description or detail of the character or event. Excessive reliance upon the thesaurus can distract a writer, so the phrase finally used sounds worse than the original cliche.