Devoted to technical writing and technical writers

A CLICHÉ is a phrase, expression, or word that has been overused to the extent that its uniqueness or freshness is lost. Thus, to use a cliché, “One must avoid a cliché like the plague.” Maven’s Word for the Day describes at least four types of clichés:  A fashionable Phrase; a Proverb; a Simile; or a single Word. The average writer finds himself / herself using clichés automatically, especially if such a person matures in an environment where such usage is common.

Thus, protagonists in a drama “lock horns”, while an old person is considered to no longer be a “spring chicken”.  The use of clichés may provide for trite or tired prose, but, one may still manage “to get away with it” if such usage is weaved skillfully into a given narrative.

The word CLICHÉ comes from the French, and refers to a printing plate used in the old letterpress process. The allusion to a stereotype and frequent usage is thereby inferred.

It should be a “feather in one’s cap”, therefore, if a writer is able to use clichés, as long as they do not make him or her sound just like any other tired and lazy writer.