Saturday 20 March 2010

In Defence of the Cliché


First of all, don't expect the little squiggle above the 'e' in 'cliche' that is in the title of this post, as I don't know where special characters are, and 'copy and paste' plays havoc with the font size, so we will just have live without it. Get over it. You know what I mean.

'Knowing what I mean' is the essence of this post too, because - as words are essentially to do with communication, and if you can efficiently communicate a meaning or feeling in one, fun-sized phrase or saying, surely it is worth the mild irritation caused by the employment of an over-used and tired old cliche, in order to save the listener or reader the effort of unravelling a well thought out and - usually - irritating new slant on an old theme, never mind the current green concerns about wasting paper?

Some writer on the radio this morning, said that something 'didn't cut the mustard' for her, and I remembered that I once knew the origin of that cliche, but have long since forgotten it. Did it matter that I no longer related the meaning that it now conveys to the original usage? Would it have been better if she had said, 'didn't do it for me' or an even longer winded version of the same message?

We are taught to avoid cliches like the plague by people like Martin Amis, who has been waging his own war against them since graduating from his creative writing course all those years ago, but - at the end of the day - you have to admit that they save a lot of time and effort for those who may not possess the same skill with the language as him.

Is it the sheer laziness that we find so irritating? The jury's out on this one.


14 comments:

  1. Frankly, at the end of the day, the bottom line must be to accept the status quo. Know what I mean?

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  2. The photo interests me. I believe that in Edwardian times, one would turn up, choose a character, be dressed up, have your photo taken, and return to being just a scruffy urchin, all with in ten minutes. That's exactly what the guy above looks like. The faux air of learning, faux well-dressed, faux everything.

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  3. It's actually William McGonegall, ( "Oh beautiful bridge over the silvery Tay..." etc.) Cro. I couldn't decide if he was a man who relentlessly exploited cliches, or if he did exactly the opposite - probably both at the same time. Anyone who stalked Queen Victoria can't be all bad.

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  4. It's clear as Smirnoff that we couldn't do without clichés for their admirable obfuscation of the absence of original thought. I was remarking to someone the other day that e.e. cummings uses them magnificently in his poems - he takes the cliché out of the cliché but leaves the carapace of the cliché for added effect. The man should have had a blog.

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  5. I'll have to look up E.E. Cummings - sounds good. P.S. Where did you find you little squiggle above the e in 'cliches', Mise? I've got a little squiggle on my keyboard (`) but can't place it over an e - the little devil. Also I've just noticed that it slants in the wrong direction.

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  6. Try small e plus AltGr as in é.

    McGonegall happens to be a favourite of mine. I have the 'complete works'. I'm surprised I didn't recognise him. A tragedian of note.

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  7. I think his greatest legacy might have been the inspiration of the Python character: "Lend us a quid 'till tuesday..."

    re e - I've got a mac keyboard, but tried something similar, scaring myself half to death. It said "Are you SURE you want to empty the cache?" EEEK!

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  8. éééééééééééééééé

    Alt e does it on my Mac keyboard. See exuberant evidence above.

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  9. I'm still figuring out all that stuff too. Though I can make a copywrite mark: ©

    And cliches are okay if not used too often. People like to see something familiar, especially in songwriting. Although, they do give me a greasy, acidic feeling when I use them. I feel like I'm cheating just a little bit.

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  10. Don't worry Amy - the acid cuts through the grease. Everyone uses that - no cheating.

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  11. éé - OH YES!!!!!!!! Thank you, Mise. XXXXXXXX ééééeée´éé

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  12. How do you make a copyright mark, Amy? And how do you stop someone from stealing it?

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  13. On a Mac it's Alt+G. And anybody can steal it, I won't tell management.

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  14. © Oh yes. Now I can start copyrighting all my stuff. Thanks Amy. ©

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