英语语法：178 How to Avoid Clichés

Grammar Girl here.

Today’s topic is taking care of clichés.

Guest writer Sal Glynn writes, clichés can be a writer’s worst enemy, and the reader usually doesn’t like clichés much either. Writers from Jonathan Swift to George Orwell have ranted¹ against the cliché like it was the Devil tempting² an innocent seminary student (1).

Clichés are the metaphors³ and turns of phrase that have become tired through overuse (2). All walks of life is a cliché, along with behind the eight ball and cried over spilled milk. When these appear in copy, editors usually reach for a blue pencil or red pen and ask the writer to come up with something better.

The word cliché began as a nineteenth-century French term for a stereotype⁴ printing plate made from metal type. Books in high demand were printed from the plates until the plates wore out, just like a cliché is used until the energy of its first appearance is lost.
 
Where Clichés Come From
 
Writers never intend for a phrase they've composed to be used until it is hackneyed. The book of proverbs published by the English playwright⁵ John Heywood in the 1500s contains many sayings that were considered smart and original, only to have slouched into the twenty-first century as clichés. Some of his more memorable⁶ lines include better late than never and this hitteth the nail on the head.
 
Clichés happen through no fault of the original author and tend to be perpetuated⁷ by writers of lesser⁸ skill. You can admire the creator of every cloud has a silver lining⁹, but coming up with something of your own will please readers more.
 
The Old Gets New and Old Again
 
Clichés can also be built on other clichés to become new but  just as tiresome¹⁰. Pass the buck¹¹ is a nineteenth-century poker¹² expression that crept into everyday speech. A knife with a buckhorn handle was used as a marker to show who was next to deal. If the player turned down the position, he passed the "buck" to the next player.
 
President Harry¹³ S. Truman turned the phrase and used the buck stops here to signal not that he was the next dealer¹⁴, but that the decisions made by his administration were his responsibility alone.
 
He had a desk sign made in the Federal Reformatory at El Reno, Oklahoma in 1945 with the saying the buck stops here, and soon the phrase was popularized into meaninglessness. I'm From Missouri, which was on the reverse side, was fortunate to escape this fate.
 
Aged¹⁵ and on the Way Clichés
 
Many clichés are also terribly out of date. For example, lock, stock, and barrel first appeared in the letters of Sir Walter Scott in 1817, and refers to the pieces of a musket¹⁶. The lock is the firing mechanism¹⁷, the stock is the wooden butt¹⁸, and the barrel is the long piece from which the bullets come out. There is no reason to use this saying today except in period fiction.
 
The same goes for sell like hot cakes. It's not a reference to a hearty¹⁹ breakfast, but instead to early-American cornmeal cakes cooked in pork fat or bear grease and sold at fairs and church benefits.
 
Back in the day is a newcomer to clichés. It's only been around since 1997 (1)* and some claim that it's still fresh enough to be used. But the rule still applied²⁰: when everyone else is using a phrase or expression, make sure you don’t.
 
How to Handle Clichés
 
Clichés often appear in early drafts when you're trying to keep the writing going but you've run out of words to describe an action, event, or person. That's fine, but it's a good reason to do successive drafts--no one gets it right the first time. Read through your article or story with the meanest critic’s eye. Do not be afraid to hurt your own feelings. Delete anything that might resemble a cliché and replace it with words of your own.
 
Several online sources are available for those who want to purge²¹ their writing of cliché monsters. Check the links in the reference section of the transcript²² for this podcast at quickanddirtytips.com.
 
Striking Back at Clichés
 
One way to strike against the trite²³ and the tedious is by using the anti-cliché.
 
A really dumb cliché like what goes around comes around deserves to be mistreated. The anti-cliché is a cliché that is twisted into a different shape, but is still recognizable. For example, you could take what goes around comes around and change what comes around to probably should, to make what goes around probably should. The meaning is significantly changed, but it is better to be thought of as cantankerous²⁴ than as a bad writer.
 
Good writers avoid clichés wherever they might lurk²⁵. Novelist and essayist Martin Amis said, “All writing is a campaign against cliché. Not just clichés of the pen but clichés of the mind and clichés of the heart (3).”
 
Now that you understand clichés, remember--the quick and dirty tip is get rid of them.
Administrative²⁶
The Dog Walked Down the Street: An Outspoken²⁷ Guide for Writers Who Want to Publish

Thanks again to guest-writer Sal Glynn the author of the award-winning book The Dog Walked Down the Street, An Outspoken Guide for Writers Who Want to Publish. Find out more about Sal at his blog......
Finally, thanks to everyone who has already bought my new book, Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing . Last week it made the New York Times best-seller list, and I couldn't be more excited. Thank you for all your support.
That's all. Thanks for listening.
 

1 ranted   

v.夸夸其谈( rant的过去式和过去分词 )；大叫大嚷地以…说教；气愤地)大叫大嚷；不停地大声抱怨

参考例句：

• Drink in hand,he ranted about his adventures in Africa. 他端着酒杯，激动地叙述他在非洲的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Lu Xun ranted and raved against the enemy, but he felt warmth towards the people. 鲁迅对敌人冷嘲热讽，而对人民却是满腔热忱。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

3 metaphors   

隐喻( metaphor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I can only represent it to you by metaphors. 我只能用隐喻来向你描述它。
• Thus, She's an angel and He's a lion in battle are metaphors. 因此她是天使，他是雄狮都是比喻说法。

4 stereotype   

n.固定的形象，陈规，老套，旧框框

参考例句：

• He's my stereotype of a schoolteacher.他是我心目中的典型教师。
• There's always been a stereotype about successful businessmen.人们对于成功商人一直都有一种固定印象。

5 playwright   

n.剧作家，编写剧本的人

参考例句：

• Gwyn Thomas was a famous playwright.格温·托马斯是著名的剧作家。
• The playwright was slaughtered by the press.这位剧作家受到新闻界的无情批判。

6 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

7 perpetuated   

vt.使永存（perpetuate的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• This system perpetuated itself for several centuries. 这一制度维持了几个世纪。
• I never before saw smile caught like that, and perpetuated. 我从来没有看见过谁的笑容陷入这样的窘况，而且持续不变。 来自辞典例句

8 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

9 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

10 tiresome   

adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的

参考例句：

• His doubts and hesitations were tiresome.他的疑惑和犹豫令人厌烦。
• He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors.他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。

11 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

12 poker   

n.扑克；vt.烙制

参考例句：

• He was cleared out in the poker game.他打扑克牌，把钱都输光了。
• I'm old enough to play poker and do something with it.我打扑克是老手了，可以玩些花样。

13 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

14 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

15 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

16 musket   

n.滑膛枪

参考例句：

• I hunted with a musket two years ago.两年前我用滑膛枪打猎。
• So some seconds passed,till suddenly Joyce whipped up his musket and fired.又过了几秒钟，突然，乔伊斯端起枪来开了火。

17 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

18 butt   

n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶

参考例句：

• The water butt catches the overflow from this pipe.大水桶盛接管子里流出的东西。
• He was the butt of their jokes.他是他们的笑柄。

19 hearty   

adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的

参考例句：

• After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了，他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
• We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。

20 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

21 purge   

n.整肃，清除，泻药，净化；vt.净化，清除，摆脱；vi.清除，通便，腹泻，变得清洁

参考例句：

• The new president carried out a purge of disloyal army officers.新总统对不忠诚的军官进行了清洗。
• The mayoral candidate has promised to purge the police department.市长候选人答应清洗警察部门。

22 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

23 trite   

adj.陈腐的

参考例句：

• The movie is teeming with obvious and trite ideas.这部电影充斥着平铺直叙的陈腐观点。
• Yesterday,in the restaurant,Lorraine had seemed trite,blurred,worn away.昨天在饭店里，洛兰显得庸俗、堕落、衰老了。

24 cantankerous   

adj.爱争吵的，脾气不好的

参考例句：

• He met a crabbed,cantankerous director.他碰上了一位坏脾气、爱争吵的主管。
• The cantankerous bus driver rouse on the children for singing.那个坏脾气的公共汽车司机因为孩子们唱歌而骂他们。

25 lurk   

n.潜伏，潜行；v.潜藏，潜伏，埋伏

参考例句：

• Dangers lurk in the path of wilderness.在这条荒野的小路上隐伏着危险。
• He thought he saw someone lurking above the chamber during the address.他觉得自己看见有人在演讲时潜藏在会议厅顶上。

26 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

27 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。