Top Creative Writing Courses
  • Blog
  • Featured Writing Courses
  • Online Writing Courses
  • Free Writing Courses
  • Screenwriting
  • Creative Nonfiction
  • Writing Tips
Find Your Next Writing Course Today!
​Discover Free Creative Writing Courses, Learning For All Levels Of Writers, Self-Paced Writing Classes, And Online Writing Courses Taught By Published Authors.​

This is a reader-supported site and contains affiliate links. At no extra cost to you, I may received a commission for purchases made through theses links.
Read more.

​Latest Featured Online Writing Courses ​​from MasterClass
​Click images to view courses

200 Common Clichés in Writing (and How to Avoid Them)

12/4/2020

 
Picture
Avoid clichés like the plague! We can all use clichés without thinking as they're conversational and well-used expressions to communicate what we want to say.  So what are common clichés in writing and how do we avoid them?

​Clichés — also idoms, slang, and metaphors — are overused sayings and phrases that can make your writing appear flat, weak, dull and unclear.


Here is a list of 200 common clichés in writing and how to avoid them so you can ensure your book, novel, short story, article, CV, blog post or other writing is vibrant and effective, and not a turn-off or unengaging for your readers.
​

​If clichés convey an appropriate meaning, fit into your writing, and are easily understood by a multicultural audience, then by all means ‘fill your boots’. Clichés aren’t always a no-no, but overdoing them probably is.
Picture

Related reading:
  • How to Improve Your Writing Style - 5 Simple Steps
  • ​How to Stay Motivated Writing a Novel – 15 Top Tips
  • 5 Writing Exercises to Overcome Writer's Block​
  • Check Out These Best Free Creative Writing Courses


​Even though you may use clichés in everyday conversations, they shouldn’t be overused – especially in creative and formal writing – if you want to impress, engage or be taken seriously by your readers.

Some of the clichés listed below are also classed as, or are similar to, idioms, metaphors and similes. But don't let clichéd expressions lessen the impact of your writing, or even irritate readers, whether that be to entertain, educate or inform.
​
The majority of clichés can be substituted with one or two words, or a more straightforward succinct phrase, so it makes sense to remove those tired clichés so your writing has an positive impact.

​
This article gives cliché examples and some of the worst writing clichés. These clichés to avoid in writing, whether that be in creative writing, in personal statements, in a CV, in articles or blog posts, or general writing, can be rephrased so your writing comes across as well-thought out and considered, instead of sloppy and rushed.

​So check out these 200 common clichés in writing (and how to avoid them).
​
Grammarly Writing Support

List of clichés in writing:

Picture
  1. A chip off the old block
  2. A clean slate
  3. A drop in the ocean
  4. A fine kettle of fish
  5. A loose cannon
  6. A pain in the neck
  7. Add insult to injury
  8. Against all odds
  9. Air your dirty laundry
  10. All your eggs in one basket
  11. ​All's well that ends well
  12. An axe to grind
  13. Another day, another dollar
  14. At the end of the day
  15. At this moment in time
  16. Avoid like the plague
  17. Back to square one / back to the drawing board
  18. Ballpark figure
  19. Banging your head against a brick wall
  20. Baptism of fire
  21. Bark is worse than their bite
  22. Barking up the wrong tree
  23. Beat around the bush
  24. Beggars can't be choosers
  25. Best thing since sliced bread
  26. Bet your bottom dollar
  27. Between a rock and a hard place 
  28. Beyond the pale
  29. Big fish in a small pond
  30. Bite the bullet
  31. Bite the hand that feeds you
  32. ​Bitten off more than they can chew 
  33. Blind leading the blind 
  34. Blood is thicker than water 
  35. Bone of contention 
  36. Bring home the bacon 
  37. Broken record 
  38. Bull in a china shop 
  39. Burning the candle at both ends 
  40. Bury the hatchet 
  41. By hook or by crook 
  42. By the same token 
  43. Calm before the storm 
  44. Can't cut the mustard 
  45. Cat got your tongue 
  46. Chomping at the bit 
  47. Cleanliness is next to godliness 
  48. Clear as mud 
  49. Come hell or high water 
  50. Cost an arm and a leg 
  51. Cross that bridge when you come to it
  52. Curiosity killed the cat 
  53. Cut to the chase 
  54. Cut to the quick 
  55. Cute as a button 
  56. Dead as a dodo 
  57. Don't count your chickens before they're hatched 
  58. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth 
  59. Dull as dishwater 
  60. Easy as pie 
  61. Every dog has its day 
  62. Every fibre of my being 
  63. Everything but the kitchen sink 
  64. Feast or famine 
  65. Few and far between 
  66. Fish out of water 
  67. Fit as a fiddle 
  68. Flat as a pancake 
  69. Flip your lid 
  70. Flog a dead horse 
  71. Fly by night 
  72. For all intents and purposes 
  73. Force to be reckoned with 
  74. Fresh as a daisy 
  75. Get your feet wet 
  76. Gets my goat 
  77. Glass half full or half empty 
  78. Go against the grain 
  79. Go the extra mile 
  80. Going forward 
  81. Good as gold 
  82. Good things come to those who wait
  83. High and dry 
  84. High as a kite 
  85. Hold your horses 
  86. Honest as the day is long 
  87. Icing on the cake 
  88. If the shoe was on the other foot 
  89. In a nutshell 
  90. In an ideal world 
  91. In any way shape or form 
  92. In hot water 
  93. In the nick of time 
  94. In this day and age 
  95. It takes one to know one 
  96. It’s not over until the fat lady sings
  97. Joined at the hip 
  98. Judge a book by its cover 
  99. Jump down your throat 
  100. Jump in with both feet 
  101. Just the ticket 
  102. Keep a stiff upper lip 
  103. Keep your chin up 
  104. Kick the bucket 
  105. Kid in a candy store 
  106. Kill two birds with one stone 
  107. Kit and caboodle/kaboodle (the whole)
  108. Knock your socks off 
  109. Labour of love 
  110. Last but not least 
  111. Last hurrah 
  112. Leaps and bounds 
  113. Let sleeping dogs lie 
  114. Let the cat out of the bag 
  115. Let the good times roll 
  116. Let your hair down 
  117. Lick your wounds 
  118. Light at the end of the tunnel 
  119. Like death warmed up 
  120. Like taking candy from a baby 
  121. Look what the cat dragged in 
  122. Luck of the Irish 
  123. Make hay while the sun shines
  124. Make money hand over fist 
  125. Make your blood boil 
  126. Mark my words 
  127. Missed the boat 
  128. Moment in the sun 
  129. Money to burn 
  130. More than one way to skin a cat 
  131. Move the goalposts 
  132. Never say never 
  133. Nip it in the bud 
  134. No guts, no glory 
  135. No pain, no gain 
  136. No skin off my nose 
  137. No use crying over spilled milk 
  138. Nose to the grindstone 
  139. Not fit for purpose 
  140. Nothing to sniff at 
  141. Nothing ventured nothing gained 
  142. On the bandwagon 
  143. On their high horse 
  144. On thin ice 
  145. Once bitten, twice shy 
  146. One born every minute 
  147. One foot in the grave 
  148. Only time will tell 
  149. Open a can of worms 
  150. Open the flood gates 
  151. Opportunity doesn't knock twice 
  152. Out of the frying pan and into the fire
  153. Out of the woods 
  154. Out on a limb 
  155. Par for the course 
  156. Part and parcel 
  157. Pay through the nose 
  158. Plain as the nose on your face 
  159. Play your cards right 
  160. Playing with fire 
  161. Plenty of fish in the sea 
  162. Pull the wool over their eyes 
  163. Pure as the driven snow 
  164. Pushing the envelope 
  165. Put the cart before the horse 
  166. Raining cats and dogs 
  167. Reap what you sow 
  168. Reinvent the wheel 
  169. Rob peter to pay paul 
  170. Salt of the earth 
  171. See eye to eye 
  172. Singing from the same hymn sheet
  173. Six of one, half a dozen of another
  174. Skating on thin ice 
  175. Stick in the mud 
  176. Still waters run deep 
  177. Stop and smell the roses 
  178. Straw that broke the camel's back
  179. Stubborn as a mule 
  180. Take the bull by the horns 
  181. Takes two to tango 
  182. The devil is in the detail 
  183. The long and short of it 
  184. The pot calling the kettle black 
  185. The red carpet treatment 
  186. The road to hell is paved with good intentions 
  187. Think outside the box 
  188. Three sheets to the wind 
  189. Throw in the towel 
  190. Throw the baby out with the bath water
  191. Until the cows come home 
  192. Water under the bridge 
  193. Weather the storm 
  194. When it rains, it pours 
  195. When push comes to shove 
  196. When the cat's away 
  197. When the going gets tough, the tough get going
  198. Whole nine yards 
  199. Wild-goose chase 
  200. ​Yanking your chain

How to Avoid Clichés in Writing

Picture

​Before using the cliché or overused phrase, have a think about what you’re trying to convey in your writing and what the saying means, and then ascertain the word/s with the same meaning to rephrase your sentence.


If you don’t want to delete the meaning of the cliché completely, you can rephrase your sentence by using plain English alternatives to enhance your writing, make it more concise, and improve reader engagement, which all help to improve the overall quality of your writing.

Want to know how to remove overused phrases in writing?

See the following list of examples showing how to avoid clichés in your writing by using the alternatives (synonyms) instead. 

50 Clichés with Alternatives

Picture
​
  1. A drop in the ocean – negligible
  2. A loose cannon – unpredictable person
  3. Add insult to injury – worsen an already bad situation
  4. At the end of the day – finally, ultimately
  5. At this moment in time – now, currently, presently
  6. Baptism of fire – difficult introduction
  7. Beyond the pale – bad behaviour, low morality
  8. Bone of contention – issue, point of dispute
  9. By hook or by crook – by any means possible
  10. By the same token – similarly
  11. Clear as mud – unclear
  12. Cost an arm and a leg – expensive
  13. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth – be unappreciative, find fault
  14. Every dog has its day – everyone has success or good luck eventually
  15. Few and far between – rare, scarce, or seldom
  16. Fly by night – untrustworthy, quickly disappears
  17. For all intents and purposes – in effect, in essence
  18. Get your feet wet – try something new, gain experience
  19. Gets my goat – become angry or annoyed
  20. Go against the grain – do something unusual, defy convention
  21. Good as gold – well-behaved
  22. High and dry – stranded, helpless, destitute, abandoned
  23. In a nutshell – simply, briefly
  24. In an ideal world – ideally
  25. In hot water – troublesome or dangerous situation
  26. In this day and age – nowadays, today
  27. Just the ticket – ideal
  28. Keep a stiff upper lip – be resolute, show self-restraint
  29. Keep your chin up – be cheerful, be positive, be upbeat
  30. Last but not least – lastly, finally
  31. Leaps and bounds – significantly, considerably
  32. Like taking candy from a baby – very easy
  33. Missed the boat – miss out on an opportunity, too slow to take advantage
  34. Never say never – anything can happen, don't dismiss
  35. No use crying over spilled milk – don’t get upset unnecessarily
  36. Not fit for purpose – doesn’t meet required standards
  37. Once bitten, twice shy – cautious, show caution
  38. One born every minute – a fool, easy to trick
  39. Par for the course – normal, expected
  40. Pull the wool over their eyes – trick, deceive
  41. Push the envelope – to pioneer, go beyond conventional limits
  42. Put the cart before the horse – wrong order, flawed priorities
  43. Salt of the earth – worthy person
  44. See eye to eye – agree, concur
  45. Stick in the mud – bore, party pooper, curmudgeon
  46. The long and the short of it – crux, gist
  47. The pot calling the kettle black – being hypocritical
  48. Whole nine yards – everything, completely, thoroughly
  49. Wild goose chase – useless, a fruitless search, a futile errand
  50. Yanking your chain – tease someone, lead someone on
​If you have more overused sayings but can’t think of another word/group of words to use instead, you can find alternatives for a cliché in an online thesaurus, or enter your phrase into wiktionary.org to find the substitutes for well-known sayings, phrases and clichés as well as their meaning.

Conclusion

 ‘At the end of the day’ don’t let lazy and tired language affect your writing.

To write in an engaging,  interesting, and unique way doesn’t involve using generic words and phrases which have lost their originality through overuse.

​Replace clichés with stronger and more stimulating language to keep your reader’s attention so they don’t tune out and read something else instead!


Comments are closed.


    Categories

    All
    Creative Nonfiction
    Featured Courses
    Free Writing Courses
    Online Writing Courses
    Screenwriting
    Writing Tips



    ​Featured Posts
    Picture
    23 Top Online Creative Writing Courses

    Picture
    30+ Best FREE Online Creative Writing Courses


    Picture
    10+ of the Best Top Zoom Writing Classes

    Picture
    20 Best Novel Writing Courses Online - FREE and Paid


    Picture
    14 Top Online Creative Writing Courses by Published Authors


    Picture
    15 Best Accredited Creative Writing Courses Online


    Grammarly Writing Support



Home
About
Disclaimer
Privacy
Terms
​© 2020-2023 www.topcreativewritingcourses.com
All rights reserved.
Protected by Copyscape
  • Blog
  • Featured Writing Courses
  • Online Writing Courses
  • Free Writing Courses
  • Screenwriting
  • Creative Nonfiction
  • Writing Tips