Cliché

by Priestman Atkinson, from the Punch Almanack for 1885 (which would have been published in late 1884). This is a jocular look at some clichéd expressions in the popular literature of the time.]] A cliché or cliche (pronounced , ) is an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, rendering it a stereotype, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel. The term is frequently used in modern culture for an action or idea which is expected or predictable, based on a prior event. Typically a pejorative, "clichés" are not always false or inaccurate; a cliché may or may not be true. Some are stereotypes, but some are simply truisms and facts. Clichés are often for comic effect, typically in fiction.

Most phrases now considered clichéd were originally regarded as striking, but lost their force through overuse. In this connection, David Mason and John Frederick Nims cite a particularly harsh judgement by Salvador Dalí: "The first man to compare the cheeks of a young woman to a rose was obviously a poet; the first to repeat it was possibly an idiot."

A cliché is often a vivid depiction of an abstraction that relies upon analogy or exaggeration for effect, often drawn from everyday experience. Used sparingly, they may succeed. However, cliché in writing or speech is generally considered a mark of inexperience or unoriginality.

Origin

In printing, a cliché was a printing plate cast from movable type. This is also called a stereotype. When letters were set one at a time, it made sense to cast a phrase used repeatedly as a single slug of metal. "Cliché" came to mean such a ready-made phrase. The French word “cliché” is said to come from the sound made when the matrix is dropped into molten metal to make a printing plate, though some authorities express doubt.

Usage

Cliché is a noun that is also used as an adjective, although some dictionaries do not recognize the adjective sense. All dictionaries consulted recognize a derived adjective with the same meaning, clichéd or cliché'd.

See also

Archetype

Idiom

Bromide (language)

Kitsch

Meme

Platitude

Snowclone

Stock character

Figure of speech

:Category:Clichés

:Category:Tropes

Thought-terminating cliché

TV Tropes

References

Further reading

External links

Clichés: Avoid Them Like the Plague – list of clichéd phrases

The Movie Clichés List – list of clichés in films

Where Cliches Come From - slideshow by Life magazine

How to Slay a Cliché - growing list of common clichés and how to recast or rewrite them.

Category:Descriptive technique Category:French loanwords Category:Onomatopoeias