This column is just the ‘tip of the iceberg’ when it comes to clichés
- col-teri-stein
- December 27, 2018
- 2135
Don’t we all just love our Grandmas?
When I was younger, my great-grandmother Ida used a lot of phrases like “well, I’ll be cow-kicked” when she was surprised by something. A cow-kick is a forward kick with a hind limb of a cow or horse, and it’s very dangerous. I seriously doubt Grandma really wanted to be cow-kicked. It was just a cliché.
Also popular was “hold your horses” when we grandkids got a little antsy and “putting the cart before the horse” when we weren’t exactly organized on something.
When you think about it, these are important phrases passed down from generation to generation. There is a lot of history there. So imagine my surprise when after reading some how-to books on writing, I learned you should strive to be original and never title a book with a cliché. What?
Obviously no one told best-selling author Janet Evanovich that she shouldn’t have named the first book in her Stephanie Plum series “One for the Money.” The expression was the first line of a children’s rhyme in the 1800s and was used to start a race or other activity.
It appears Evanovich has “had the last laugh” by breaking this writing rule. Other authors are “following their noses” on this matter.
There’s the “Labor of Love” title used by romance author Lorraine Heath. Because titles can’t be copyrighted, there also are many books, albums and other media by the same name. Of course we all know a “labor of love” is something done out of affection or deep interest instead of for money.
You shouldn’t be “down in the mouth” (dating back to 1649) about clichés. Many clichés go on to transform themselves into something else meaningful, like the phrase “kick the bucket,” which was listed in a publication in 1785 as meaning to die. We creative modern folk have taken it a step further and are now writing “bucket lists” of things we’d like to do before we, well, “kick the bucket.”
A good appreciation of clichés can help you live a better life, so “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” “Know what side your bread is buttered on” and make sure you “dot the i’s and cross the t’s.” It’s “do or die.”
Sure you remember when you were “knee high to a grasshopper” but don’t waste the “prime of your life.” If you happen to “bite off more than you can chew,” it’s best to “bite the bullet” because you never know when you’ll be handed a “blessing in disguise.” Trying not to be “the black sheep” may keep you out and not “in a pickle.” No one wants to have a “skeleton in the closet.”
Have you lived a good life? Things will be “right as rain” if you don’t “rest on your laurels.” Be “quick on the draw” but “let bygones be bygones.” When “push comes to shove,” we all want to be “top-drawer people” who “practice what they preach.”
Follow your own path because “too many cooks spoil the broth.” We might not all “see eye to eye,” but we’re all hoping to “see light at the end of the tunnel.” “Play your cards right” and “mind your P’s and Q’s” for best results. “Sit tight” but don’t be a “sitting duck,” and soon you will be “sitting pretty.”
This column is just the “tip of the iceberg” when it comes to clichés; in fact it barely “scratches the surface.”
No cliché book titles? That is one rule that is meant to be broken.
Thank you for reading my column and have a Happy New Year!