Page 961 - Wordsmith A Guide to College Writing

Clichés

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Avoid clichés in writing.

While slang is fresh and new, clichés are expressions used so often

for so long that they have become worn out. The cliché burn the

midnight oil, for instance, is a relic of a time when working until

midnight meant lighting an oil lamp. Because they are easy to

remember and widely used, clichés are often the first expressions that

come to mind. It takes a deliberate effort to recognize them and
eliminate them from your writing. Look at the following list of clichés.

Can you think of others?

a heart of gold cream of the crop handwriting on the wall

apple of my eye dead as a doornail happy as a clam

at the drop of a hat eat like a bird on thin ice

burn the midnight oil fit as a fiddle sick as a dog