Elizabeth Revill
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Clichés

7/17/2013

2 Comments

 
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What is it with clichés and other hackneyed phrases? I expect everyone has their pet hates. One of mine is... 'To be honest'. I mean, why wouldn't anyone be honest? It's what one expects. We don't all go around lying to each other all the time. So why say it? There must be something better to say to get a point across.
My other testing trial is...'at the end of the day'.... surely people are more imaginative than that? Why not... "When the saddle's on the horse," okay perhaps it is not quite the same but infinitely more interesting. 
I mean instead of, 'As silly as a cartload of monkeys' why not say, 'As silly as a sackful of sisters' or maybe ' as a cow in curlers'? Come to think of it a cow would look pretty silly in curlers.
I'd love to hear your pet hates and maybe hear an alternative. 

2 Comments
Mary Abrams
10/15/2013 04:32:23 am

Love the bird w/the hat. What is a 'bald-faced lie"? I've always wondered. I'll kill the next medical person who says 'A woman of your age has to...' Dead as a mackerel! Are mackerel any deader than other fish that has been caught?

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Elizabeth Spear link
10/15/2013 06:50:46 am

I absolutely agree! And another hate of mine is - "It's not rocket science!"

So, apart from hating hackneyed phrases I LOVE finding out the origins of them, too.
If you have the background on any, please post them here.

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    Elizabeth Revill AKA Liz Spear

    Writer, actress, director, teacher, voice over artiste.

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