Won't you join my cliche'?

Webster’s dictionary defines a cliché as something trite, a phrase or expression; a hackneyed theme, characterization, or situation; something that has become overly familiar or commonplace. As a writer one has to be very careful not to fall into the habit of using a cliché too often. It is amazing how much they come in to play in our everyday language. Never has this been more obvious to me than when I listen to sports announcers on television. Someone needs to tell the announcers that everyone already knows that the best defense is a good offense. If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a million times. One day these warriors of the broadcast booth will realize that striving for mediocrity will come back to haunt them. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to throw all of them under the bus. Sometimes a color analyst has to learn to take one for the team, while others need to step it up and bring their A game – you know, give us 110%. Instead they find themselves taking it just one game at a time so that, at the end of the day, they can be that “clutch” announcer. Cliché’s aren’t limited to sports announcers. News anchors and reporters are just as guilty. As they try their hardest to bring news that is current to the area residents in the wake of deadlines, they can easily leave us with many unanswered questions. We are all left to wonder if this is the fault of the reporters or their staff. Don’t think that just because you are not behind the news desk, or the microphone, that you are exempt from overusing clichés. I know you didn’t ask for my two-cents’ worth, but I feel obliged to give it to you anyway. To avoid these overused expressions we must learn to think outside the box. I mean, it’s not rocket science here. And if you can’t do it for yourself, think of the children. When it is all said and done, at the end of the day, reducing clichés in our everyday speech, now more than ever, should be a goal for us all. Going forward we should all resolve to eliminate these trite expressions from our vernacular. Thinking more clearly about the words we use could be a win-win situation. Our language skills would improve and we might actually listen to the person speaking. But, it is what it is. No one wants to talk about the elephant in the room. The bottom line is, verbal communication is taking a beating. We need to get everyone on board and shake off this 800 pound gorilla. Whew, it felt good to get that off my chest.