CLICHES I HAVE KNOWN AND LOVED
I love a good cliché. As soon as you hear one you know exactly what the writer or person is saying. So easy. Such an economy of words. But lazy. As a writer it’s verboten to use clichés. Like anyone trying to write a good story, I must leave my precious cliché babies behind.
As an ode to that which I must not use, I decided to write this to once and forever fulfill my need for clichés.
Here are a few of my favorites and some new ones I thought were cool:
Every cloud has a silver lining.
Life’s not so bad, when you consider the alternative.
All’s fair in love and war.
There are plenty more fish in the sea.
It’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. (Really? Does anyone believe this?)
Beauty is only skin deep. (Tell that to the guys lusting after supermodels)
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. (Ditto above note)
You can’t tell a book by its cover.
I’m not ugly; I’m visually challenging. (Okay. I never heard this one but I like it)
It’s what’s on the inside that really matters. (See above re supermodels and lust)
If you can’t beat them, join them.
Nobody is perfect.
I’m only human.
The devil made me do it.
It seemed like a good idea at the time.
Tomorrow, no one will remember (Ya think?)
Avoid clichés (or anything else)like the plague.
There is truth in every cliché. (This is why I love them)
Clichés sound better in a foreign language. (Ah, that’s how I can get away with using clichés in my writing)
There is nothing to fear but fear itself. (Good one, but overused. Wait! That’s what a cliché is)
Life sucks and then you die.
When God gives you lemons, make lemonade (I prefer to wallow in self-pity)
Life is a bitch. (Ain’t that the truth)
When it rains, it pours.
No pain, no gain.
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
I did it my way. (Frank Sinatra, anyone?)
Parting is such sweet sorrow.
Have a nice life.
Live and learn.
To be or not to be.
Live and let live.
Shit happens.
Laughter is the best medicine.
Same shit, different day.
Carpe diem. (See clichés, foreign language above)
What goes around comes around.
Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.
Life is messy.
Que sera, sera. (Ditto clichés and foreign languages)
Time will tell.
No news is good news.
There is no such thing as a free lunch.
Haste makes waste.
Cleanliness is next to godliness.
Do it right the first time. (Easy to say, hard to do)
There, I’ve done it. I’ve gotten my need for clichés out of my system. I will never again write a cliché in a book. I promise (fingers crossed).
Feel free to add your favorites.
11 comments:
save water, shower with a friend...oh, sorry, that's my excuse to get him in the shower with me....fun post Cara! sharing it on my networks.
Ah, my motto: Same shit, different day. :)
Great post, Cara
LOL I know all of those. Here's one that is fast becoming a cliche because it's being overused. Beautiful inside and out, or something similar to that. I used that one a little differently over 20 years ago and then everyone started using it or something similar. I read it in almost every book I read.
Clear as mud, an ax to grind, bury the hatchet, better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, Bite the dust, Can't see the forest for the trees, a rock and a hard place, the cat's pijamas...
ah, I feel better unloading a few cliches.
Okay I have one that may not be cliche but its an inside joke between me and my fiance. "Save a soldier, ride a sailor" LOL. He's a sailor so it's not TOO weird. Yeah, okay, it's a little weird. Haha
Good post and I am notorious for putting in my work--temporarily, until I can torque them into something more interesting. And sometimes, there isn't anything else.
Man up!
Thanks, everyone. Cliches are fun.
Liz, I well remember the old "shower with a friend and save water."
Tina, that's one of my faves too.
Sandy, yours is a good one, yet overused alas.
Kat, love all of yours. Those are some of my faves too.I'd forgotten them when I was writing my list.
Nicole, never heard of that one, but it sure gets the imagination working.
Vicki, I'm like you. I'll put the cliches in then find more creative ways to say what I want.
I think Live and Let Die is the title of a song and a James Bond movie.
I used He's Strong as a Bull in one of my books.
Janice~
Thanks, Janice. You're right. Live and Let Die is one of the Bond songs. Strong as a bull is a good one.
Thought this was a hoot! Good warning though...
Thanks, Jean.
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