Is Your Writing Cliché?
This article was co-authored by Kayla Dean and by wikiHow staff writer, Kyle Hall. Kayla Dean is a copywriting and brand strategy expert based in Palm Beach, Florida. With over 7 years of experience, Kayla is the senior copywriter and messaging strategist at The Literary Co. Her specialties include website copywriting, brand messaging strategy, messaging guidelines, marketing, online small business, and creative entrepreneurship. Kayla has a master’s degree in English Literature from the University of Nevada - Las Vegas.
This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources.
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What Are Clichés in Writing?
In writing, clichés are phrases and ideas that have been used so frequently that they appear unoriginal and have less impact on readers because they're so common.[1]
It can be easy to default to clichés when writing since they act as shorthand and come to mind easily, but it's best to avoid them if you want your writing to really resonate with readers. Here are some examples of common clichés to avoid:
- A loose cannon
- Giving the cold shoulder
- Keeping an eye on
- The time of their life
- In this day and age
- On the tip of their tongue
- Set the record straight
- Wild goose chase
- Better safe than sorry
- Read between the lines
- Caught red-handed
- Go over their head
- Hell-bent
- Rule things out
- Sharp as a tack
- Down in the dumps
- The wrong side of the bed
- In the nick of time
- Can of worms
- A perfect storm
- The end of the world
- Avoid it like the plague
References
- ↑ Kayla Dean. Copywriting and Brand Strategy Expert. Expert Interview
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