# "Did I just say that?" (cliches you have used) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 22, 2004, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-say-that-cliches-you-have-used/276164 "2004-11-22T20:29:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-say-that-cliches-you-have-used/276164/1 "2004-11-22T20:29:46Z")
I just handed a project to someone and said “I’ll need you to be ready to _hit the ground running_ on this when it comes back from the test-solver next Tuesday.” :smack: I hate using cliches. ---
**Author:** ![Fox\_Paws](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/85e7bf/32.png) [@Fox\_Paws](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fox_Paws)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-say-that-cliches-you-have-used/276164/2 "2004-11-22T21:27:33Z")
I avoid cliches like the plague. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-say-that-cliches-you-have-used/276164/3 "2004-11-22T21:36:49Z")
Really? I think they’re the best thing since sliced bread. ---
**Author:** ![Rufus\_Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-say-that-cliches-you-have-used/276164/4 "2004-11-22T21:49:22Z")
How come cliche and niche don’t rhyme? ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-say-that-cliches-you-have-used/276164/5 "2004-11-22T22:48:26Z")
They don’t?? ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-say-that-cliches-you-have-used/276164/6 "2004-11-22T22:55:07Z")
I once had a boss send out an email entitled “It’s now time for the spank-the-monkey test” to the entire company. I don’t think he had a problem using cliches, but I’m also quite positive he didn’t know just what _that_ cliche meant. I think he thought it referred to some kind of intense software testing phase. I’m also fairly sure that most of the male team members avoided the bathrooms while he was in there for the next couple months, just in case he _did_ know what the cliche meant. ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-say-that-cliches-you-have-used/276164/7 "2004-11-22T23:01:16Z")
Well, like, I try to avoid clichces, 'cause, well, they’re annoying like and then you’re like ‘stop doing that’ and I’m like “sorry!” I used to talk like that. Still do occasionally. But I’m getting better. ---
**Author:** ![Rufus\_Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-say-that-cliches-you-have-used/276164/8 "2004-11-22T23:16:49Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > They don’t?? Not that I know of. Of course, your mileage may vary. But then, that’s what makes a horse race. You learn something new every day. Pay it forward. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-say-that-cliches-you-have-used/276164/9 "2004-11-23T01:56:03Z")
As a parent, I was horrified to hear myself using “because I said so” with my kids. Does that count? ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-say-that-cliches-you-have-used/276164/10 "2004-11-23T02:08:48Z")
I think we need to eliminate cliches. Let’s run that idea up the flagpole, and see who salutes it. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-say-that-cliches-you-have-used/276164/11 "2004-11-23T03:16:04Z")
I said “That’d be more fun than a barrel of monkeys” once to my boss, who grew up in China, and had no idea what the hell I was talking about. Watching him give me an almost irritated look and saunter off with a furrowed brow was worth being my corniest, I can tell you. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-say-that-cliches-you-have-used/276164/12 "2004-11-23T03:25:49Z")
> [@Rufus Xavier](#): > > Not that I know of. Of course, your mileage may vary. But then, that’s what makes a horse race. You learn something new every day. Pay it forward. Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle. . . ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-say-that-cliches-you-have-used/276164/13 "2004-11-23T14:26:04Z")
> [@Fox Paws](#): > > I avoid cliches like the plague. I agree, they’re old hat, aren’t they? A friend and I take cliches and re-word them. For example, instead of “cut the mustard” we say “slice the ketchup.” Dumb, I know, but it keeps conversations fresh and interesting. A few others I am guilty of using recently: …like a bat out of hell. Give him an inch and he’ll take you a mile. They’re living on Easy Street. I wouldn’t touch that with a ten-foot pole! ---
**Author:** ![NoPretentiousCodename](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/82dd89/32.png) [@NoPretentiousCodename](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoPretentiousCodename)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-say-that-cliches-you-have-used/276164/14 "2004-11-23T14:30:39Z")
Sometimes I try to mix n’ match my clichés. “That’s the way the kitchen sinks” or “Hey, man, whatever sinks your kitchen” can be good for an :dubious: from somebody. Also proverbs. “Well as they say, A stich in time saves stiches.” “An ounce of prevention is worth about tree fitty($3.50).” ---
**Author:** ![Sevo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sevo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevo)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-say-that-cliches-you-have-used/276164/15 "2004-11-23T14:51:37Z")
Cliches are bad. You have to keep it original. A rolling stone gathers no moss, you know. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-say-that-cliches-you-have-used/276164/16 "2004-11-23T21:31:26Z")
I once told a nephew “My gosh, the last time I saw you, you were only this ta… did I say that!?” ---
**Author:** ![aaslatten](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f14d63/32.png) [@aaslatten](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aaslatten)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-say-that-cliches-you-have-used/276164/17 "2004-11-23T21:48:53Z")
What I really hate is when I use a cliche I don’t even like. In a meeting once, I said, “I think we’re putting the cart before the horse.” Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-say-that-cliches-you-have-used/276164/18 "2004-11-24T02:55:11Z")
> [@dwc1970](#): > > I agree, they’re old hat, aren’t they? > > A friend and I take cliches and re-word them. For example, instead of “cut the mustard” we say “slice the ketchup.” Dumb, I know, but it keeps conversations fresh and interesting. > > A few others I am guilty of using recently: > > …like a bat out of hell. > Give him an inch and he’ll take you a mile. > They’re living on Easy Street. > I wouldn’t touch that with a ten-foot pole! Weell!! At least you didn’t choose sides by saying _Eenie, meenie, minie, mo…_ ---
**Author:** ![Keapon\_Laffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e274bd/32.png) [@Keapon\_Laffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keapon_Laffin)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-say-that-cliches-you-have-used/276164/19 "2004-11-24T03:01:42Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > I just handed a project to someone and said “I’ll need you to be ready to _hit the ground running_ on this when it comes back from the test-solver next Tuesday.” So I guess you could say that that cliche was \*the straw that broke the camel’s back \* for you? ---
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2004, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-say-that-cliches-you-have-used/276164/20 "2004-11-24T08:25:17Z")
I don’t use cliches, but I don’t look down on people who use cliches. After all, what goes around comes around. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-say-that-cliches-you-have-used/276164.md?page=2)