Clichés in written tekst

This text is a reproduction of a speech I gave for speaking club Leiden Toastmasters, Thursday august 22th 2013

Clichés in written text

Time will tell
Old and wise
The good old days
Fit as a fiddle
Every cloud has a silver lining
All is well that ends well

What do these expressions have in common? They all are called clichés.
Expressions that once started their career as smart remarks, but are used so many times that they became well known…and overused.

Mostly these expressions don’t have a literal meaning, but they are metaphors. For example, the phrase “sweaty palms” or “twinkling eyes” have come to mean more than the fact that your palms are just sweaty or that your eyes have a twinkle. When you say someone has sweaty palms, everyone knows you mean “he is nervous” because the expression has become a cliché.

I am fond of clichés, some because of their beauty, some just because of their ugliness. I like to study language, how this is used by people, in a sociological view. For over a year I run a blog named “Clicheschatkamer”, “Cliché treasure room”, where I investigate the various functions of clichés, in language and in views that people have.
In this speech I will cover the use of clichés in text and show their advantages and disadvantages. In the next speech I will talk about clichés people use when they are communicating with each other.

In writing, most clichés seem to be a curse for literate people. In this field people are praised for their inventiveness and originality. But clichés are not original, by definition. Some clichés can irritate, because they are so overused that they have become corny. Couldn’t the writer show a little bit more originality? However, you can be original by giving a cliché a twist. “Brave as a weasel” instead of “Brave as a lion”, when you want to express weakness.

Moreover, these clichés don’t always convey an accurate description. We say “old and wise”. But I know people that are old, but definitely are not wise, so this combination is not true.

If you strive to be a literator, avoid any cliché. If you want to be read by a large public, if you want to sell, use them! The bestseller “Fifty shades of grey” written by E.L. James is full of them, or so I’ve heard from critics.
Not surprisingly, clichés do have the power to make a text more vivid. The expression “It is raining cats and dogs” has more ability to evoke images than the sentence “It is raining very strong.”

And because these expressions have been used so often their meaning is clear. When you say “I had the time of my life” you don’t have to explain how you were feeling at that moment. Also when you are writing a complicated text, by using well known expressions, your readers will understand it easier, because of the stereotype quality. It works like a shortcut on your desktop launching a software program. If I say a tropical island, a whole world pops up in your mind. You see beaches, palm trees, cocktails and people dancing with flower garlands.
Marketing people writing advertisements are knowing that too well.

Clichés are also a perfect instrument for politics or organizations. After a scandal the leaders can hide themselves, their deeds and their responsibility behind words which seem to be saying everything but nothing at the same time. Because of the overuse a cliché has lost any personal meaning and can create a safe distance. “There is no smoking gun”, you can read in the paper.

At last, clichés have a bad name by the literate, highly educated people. Often these expressions are boring and not accurate. But they can do a lot of good. They have the power to give a story more flavour and they can evoke a whole world with one expression. So you don’t have a lot to explain. Beside, not all clichés are that corny. Don’t be afraid of using them. What would a politician think writing down answers to tricky questions?

Hurray for the cliché!