cliché (klee-SHAY) n. – an expression or idea that has become trite (worn out by constant use).
– Webster’s New World Dictionary
Do you know why clichés become well-worn? Because most of them hold truth like a shark holds a surfer. Maybe we’ve ignored some tenet of common sense and end up on the beach battered and bloody. Take heed to these words, as unexciting as the phrases may be. The parenthetical explanations are mine, but they as well are obvious and the bringers of “duh, that’s right!” moments:
1. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. (Open yourself to other possibilities and avenues toward your goal. Your dreams may be scrambled if you rely on one road to get there).
2. Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. (Putting too much emphasis on the result before it comes to fruition clouds your judgment. It can also be a one-way ticket to disappointment).
3. Look both ways before crossing the street. (A childhood command for safe pedestrian behavior, it is also good advice for most decisions we can make. Being blindsided is never pleasant).
4. A stich in time saves nine. (Don’t wait until more things become unraveled. Fix one problem to prevent others. This also relates to “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”).
5. Put your ducks in a row. (Organize what you’re working on and your task will be “like shooting ducks in a pond”).
6. If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, then it’s probably a duck. (Sometimes you can “judge a book by its cover.” While appearances can be deceiving, taking something at “face value” is not always wrong).
7. All that glitters is not gold. (Contrary to No. 6, sometimes looks can be deceiving. Make sure you know what or whom you are dealing with before launching yourself “head first” into a situation).
8. You reap what you sow. (You get what you give. Also “do unto others as you’d have them do unto you”).
9. Give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day; teach a man to fish, and he’ll eat for a lifetime. (This is a perfect testimony for the value of education ... or possibly of what’s wrong with the welfare system. You can satisfy someone’s immediate desires, but isn’t it more worthwhile to teach him how to satisfy his own?)
10. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. (This goes along with “you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.” Not to be confused with “If you love something, set it free. If it returns, run!”)
You may have noticed many of the ones I’ve listed mention fowl. Does that mean clichés are for the birds? I don’t know, maybe poultry looks both ways before traversing the street (why did that chicken cross the road anyway??). I think using clichés in everyday conversation makes listeners begin to ignore you. So homespun, this wisdom! But the sentiments behind them hold weight. Ignore them at your peril.
What’s your favorite cliché and what does it mean to you? I won’t deny you the pleasure, because that would be like the pot calling the kettle black.
Now that I'm over the shock (couldn't believe you were movin' !) I really love your new site. Thanks for the cliche education...I'd actually never heard of a couple of those.
Does "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without" count as a cliche? Maybe this falls under "A penny saved is a penny earned."
You moved?!
I don't recall voting on this.
Arnold!
I'll be back.
Wow, I can't believe you've up and moved. Looks like the grass is just as green on this side too, maybe those cliches are wrong...
I like the new site. I bet it's nice to have a cyber-home that will probably be much more dependable!
At The Waffle House
T-bone words will inspire
while I eat breakfast.
Man, I LOVE Waffle House.
Apropos of your previous post where you discussed glasses being half-empty or half-full, I can't let my last day of work at an actuarial firm go by without pointing out, in pure actuarial detail, that the glass is BOTH half-empty AND half-full. So stick that in your pipe and smoke it! Run it up the flagpole and see who salutes.... You don't need a weather vane to know which way the wind blows.... Don't pee into the wind... Oh, now you've done it. My cliche inhibitor has gone bad.... =)
My all-time favorite cliche is on your list - #9.
But the close second is:
"A small leak will sink a great ship."
I'm not sure if it's a true "cliche" - but it's a great quote by Benjamin Franklin.
Congrats on the move, T-Bone! I like the new digs. Your link has been updated on BTG.
I was going to post a comment about how much I love your new site, but I guess I'll "kill two birds with one stone" and throw a cliché in here as well!
You rock t-bone!
"Familiarity breeds contempt" is my explanation for trouble at work, bad relations with the neighbours, why I am sometimes taken forgranted. But the worst of it is, I can't pronounce 'familiarity' so this is a cliche I can only write or think.
love the new site. and i really love today's post, but i feel you totally glossed over the feline cliche genre (out of the bag, curiosity, and such). its tough to pick a favorite, but i'd probably have to go with - "can't see the forest for the trees"
"If wishes were horses beggers would ride" has always been my favorite it draws such a vivid mental picture.
Cool new site. I will update the link shortly.
Congrats on the new site. It's as shiny as a new dime.
what doesn't kill us makes us stronger..
or something like that
for some reason that one keeps popping up in my head today..
it's a blah Wednesday
Ally is right about me missing the boat on cat cliches.
I guess I've gone to the dogs. But my bark is worse than its bite. And it's not barking up the wrong tree when I say that.
If you lay down with dogs, you'll get up with fleas.
My belly itches, love the new digs.
I cant say that word, familiarity, either!
I do like your new bloghome now, but I dearly liked your former blogpad, too. It was all kinda spiffy with the photos and the black background. I'm sure you will decorate this place too, when you have the time. Remember, I can wall paper and paint, and best of all, I can make great ever flowing margaritas and delegate duties.
I dont have a cliche. I do tell my kids this alot thought:
"Stop that, dammit!!"
Its Wednesday. It rained last night. Its 87 degrees outside. Patti is a happy gurrrl.
Spit in the sky. It will fall into your face.
Every disappointment in life happens for a good reason. (My Mother always said that one.)
Like the new site... :) Looks good around here. I'm not fond of the raw T-bone steak visual... (mis-steak/mistake)
There are so many work cliches, I would take up too much room.
We have a bingo grid called, "Bullshit Bingo" that we use on conference calls at work. (We IM while on them)
Each box has an overused cliche'. I may have to email it to you, as it's pretty funny...
One of my favorite truisms though is:
"Familiarity breeds lust"...
It does...
I don't like the raw meat visual much either... Why not give us the visual of it cooked and on a plate, ready to devour? Just a suggestion...
Who let the cat out of the bag?