Cliche Facts

What Is A Cliche?  What are some popular cliches and sayings?  Check it out to find out and learn more.  Ok, Boomer!

Ever hear someone or everyone talk so much about something that the original intent is lost?  Maybe they are referencing things as common as water or cats or a new Billie Eilish song.  Cliche is something that has been repeatedly used to the point of losing original meaning. The word “cliche” comes from the days of moveable type, where each letter had to be set by hand into a framework before printing. Commonly-used phrases were kept, pre-set in clamps so they could be regularly used without having to reset all the letters individually each time. The clamp that keeps letters together to form these oft-used sentences or phrases is called a cliche. Some of the popular cliche’s include:  Good things come to those who wait. 

Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love with girl. Boy loses girl. Boy gets girl back. The End. 

A penny saved is a penny earned.  There’s plenty more fish in the sea.  You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

A cliche might cause one to SMH or TBH and even post about it on Twitter or TikTok or over Google email. 

Most sayings are cliches, but there are some sayings that are really important, even if they don’t seem to be from the mouth of the famous or wealthy. There are many websites devoted to helping you find the proper meaning behind the most popular sayings.

Are you always talking about cliches? For a while, I used to refer to them as ‘out-of-the-way’ sayings, but when I came across a saying’s website, I realized that I had unintentionally used this phrase. Here’s an example: My friend recently asked me to teach her some baby names for her newborn. “Baby names?” I replied in a puzzled tone. “What’s a baby name?” She asked. I then answered that it was a term used to describe a baby.

Because this expression is traditionally considered incorrect, I decided to explain that it is a term used in the more traditional sense. “So, you mean I don’t have to tell you what a baby name is?” she asked.

I couldn’t help but ask my friend why she would want to have a traditional baby name, which includes mother’s maiden name, given by her husband, rather than choosing some of the more common baby names. Some common names in common use are Baby Tuck, Baby Dada, and Baby Pat. Those three names sound a little too formal, but in this case, having an authentic choice seemed a little redundant.

So I told her that in her culture, which is predominantly Jewish, common names are quite common. In the United States, which is predominantly Christian, traditional names are still quite popular. Of course, we don’t usually give babies traditional names, but that’s not true in most cases.

Although I didn’t necessarily make a case for the superiority of a particular religion, I did make the point that it is often a cliche, even if it is the only way to go. I also explained that some people think that the expression “you can always find something better” is a cliche, because it doesn’t actually mean anything. To explain why it is a cliche, I gave the example of using the phrase “That won’t do,” which, according to the dictionary, means ‘not only does not work, but it will certainly not do.’

What else can you find on a vocabulary-learning site? You’ll find nearly three thousand sayings. These will guide you in the right direction and help you understand your own unique culture. What could be better?