RThe Facts on File Dictionary of Clichés (3rd edition)

“Not all clichés are bad”, claims the author of The Facts on File Dictionary of Clichés, now into its third edition. But what makes a cliché? Should all popular phrases, buzzwords and quotations be “tarred with the same brush?” The common definition of a cliché is an expression which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, as with management speak like “think outside the box”, and the cliché of all clichés “have a nice day!” So when a catchphrase or saying falls out of everyday use – “far out”, for example, from the...