Frank Sullivan wrote a number of amusing interviews with “The Cliche Expert”, whom he called Mr. Arbuthnot. Here’s the first one. http://lineralucas.blogspot.com/2009/02/cliche-expert-takes-stand.html
Oh, really? I like clichés too!
Time will tell: This means that something will revealed or become clear over time
In the nick of time: This means something happened just in time
Lost track of time: This means you stopped paying attention to the time or to how long something was taking
Lasted an eternity: This refers to something that lasts for a very long time (or that feels like it does)
A matter of time: This refers to something that will eventually happen or eventually become clear
A waste of time: This refers to something that was silly or not valuable to do
Rushed for time: This means you do not have sufficient time to do something
In a jiffy: This means something will happen soon
The time of my life: This refers to a really great time
At the speed of light: This means something done very quickly.
I think they’re kind of useful as a quick way of expressing an idea that everyone will understand*. If your trying to compose a great work of literature or something else you want recognized for its unique use of language, then obviously using stock phrases should be avoided. But if your just trying to get a point across to another human being, cliches are great.
*(indeed, the fact that there so common is presumably because they’re so useful).
I don’t have anything useful to say, except that I agree. Cliches can be great. A lot of them are lovely. They persist because they’re useful. I can’t imagine the policing involved in trying to scrub all cliches from one’s language; what a pointless asceticism.
[The very use of the word “cliche” for this meaning is, in some small sense, a cliche; a piece of metonymy someone once thought was clever, and which now persists as an unexamined stock expression. But, of course, so much of language works this way.]
(bolding mine)
“in physics (particularly in quantum physics) and often in chemistry, a jiffy is defined as the time taken for light to travel some specified distance. In astrophysics and quantum physics a jiffy is, as defined by Edward R. Harrison,[7] the time it takes for light to travel one fermi, which is approximately the size of a nucleon. One fermi is 10−15 m, so a jiffy is about 3 × 10−24 seconds. It has also more informally been defined as “one light-foot”, which works out as approximately one nanosecond.[6]”
More like, right now.
Just sayin’… 