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A cliché (from French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
, ) or cliche is a saying, expression or idea which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning, especially when at some earlier time it was considered distinctively meaningful or novel, rendering it a stereotype
Stereotype

A stereotype is a preconceived idea that attributes certain characteristics to all the members of class or set. The term is often used with a negative connotation when referring to an oversimplified, exaggerated, or demeaning assumption that a particular individual possesses the characteristics associated with the class due to his or her me...
. The term is likely to be used in a negative context. It is frequently used in modern culture to reference an action or idea which is expected or predictable, based on a prior event.








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A cliché (from French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
, ) or cliche is a saying, expression or idea which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning, especially when at some earlier time it was considered distinctively meaningful or novel, rendering it a stereotype
Stereotype

A stereotype is a preconceived idea that attributes certain characteristics to all the members of class or set. The term is often used with a negative connotation when referring to an oversimplified, exaggerated, or demeaning assumption that a particular individual possesses the characteristics associated with the class due to his or her me...
. The term is likely to be used in a negative context. It is frequently used in modern culture to reference an action or idea which is expected or predictable, based on a prior event.

See also

  • Anti-cliché
    Anti-cliché

    An anti-clich? is a literary device or figure of speech that twists the meaning or phrasing of a known clich?. Although not named as such by literary critics, many writers, comedians, and poets have made use of the anti-clich? to provide a memorable and often ironic phrase, line, or passage....
  • Archetype
    Archetype

    An archetype is an original model of a person, ideal example, or a prototype after which others are copied, patterned, or emulated; a symbol universally recognized by all....
  • Description
    Description

    amin is the bestDescription is one of four rhetorical modes , along with exposition, argumentation, and narration. Each of the rhetorical modes is present in a variety of forms and each has its own purpose and conventions....
  • Idiom
    Idiom

    An idiom is a phrase whose meaning cannot be determined by the literal definition of the phrase itself, but refers instead to a figurative language meaning that is known only through common use....
  • Simile
    Simile

    A simile is a figure of speech comparing two unlike things, often introduced with the word "like" or "as". Even though similes and metaphors are both forms of comparison, similes allow the two ideas to remain distinct in spite of their similarities, whereas metaphors seek to equate two ideas despite their differences....
  • Snow clone
  • Stereotype
    Stereotype

    A stereotype is a preconceived idea that attributes certain characteristics to all the members of class or set. The term is often used with a negative connotation when referring to an oversimplified, exaggerated, or demeaning assumption that a particular individual possesses the characteristics associated with the class due to his or her me...
  • Stock character
    Stock character

    A stock character is one which relies heavily on cultural types or names for his or her personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics....
  • Thought-terminating cliché
    Thought-terminating cliché

    A thought-terminating clich? is a commonly used phrase, sometimes passing as folk wisdom, used to quell cognitive dissonance. Though the phrase in and of itself may be valid in certain contexts, its application as a means of dismissing dissention or justifying Fallacy is what makes it thought-terminating....


Examples of clichés

  • Don't put all your eggs in one basket
  • Every cloud has a silver lining
  • Take the bull by its horns
  • Heads will roll
  • No rest for the wicked
  • (Like) a cat on a hot tin roof
  • Not enough room to swing a cat
  • It's always darkest before the dawn
  • Don't let the bedbugs bite
  • It does what it says on the tin
  • Baby I'm a star, I'm above a star
  • Every rose has its thorn
  • What goes around, comes around
  • Do unto others as you would have done unto you
  • Don't judge a book by its cover
  • That's what it's all about
  • Chomping at the bit
  • Ducks in a row
  • Shooting fish in a barrel
  • The Middle Finger(as in the action of putting up ones middle finger)
  • Clint Mansell - Lux Aeterna (as in the action of using this composition for any dramatic scene)


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