Last week I noticed an article and will call it to your attention as a public service. If you think you are about to construct what you fear might turn out to be a cliché, go to this piece which consists of a large number of them and see if you can find it.
The article was published as a "Guest Essay" in a respectable newspaper, although, admittedly, a number of people think it is not. In any case, one has to admire the cleverness of the essayist who had accepted, an article of over 700 words consisting of nothing but clichés. And, he didn't even have to worry about punctuation since all 700+ words are in just one sentence.
I suppose I could simply paste here the entire article since it is only one sentence long and consists only of clichés, but we live in increasingly litigious times and I don't want to have to go to court to defend myself against charges of plagiarism. So, presented below are bundles of the clichés from the 'essay', separated by ellipses to indicate that some of have been left out. I will then conclude with the source so you will know where to find them.
The article begins with these clichés:
"Ramped up, amped up, ratchet up, gin up, up the ante, double down, jump-start, be behind the curve, swim against the tide, go south, go belly up, level the playing field, open the floodgates, think outside the box, push the edge of the envelope, pull out all the stops, take the foot off the pedal, pump the brakes, grease the wheel, circle the wagons, charge full steam ahead, pass with flying colors, move the goal posts, pour gasoline on, add fuel to the fire, fly under the radar, add insult to injury, grow by leaps and bounds, only time will tell...
have your cake and eat it too, a taste of one’s own medicine, stick to one’s guns, above one’s pay grade, punch above one’s weight, lick one’s wounds, pack a punch, roll with the punches, come apart at the seams, throw a wrench into, caught in the cross hairs, cross the Rubicon, tempt fate, go ballistic, on tenterhooks, hit the nail on the head, a nail in the coffin, joined at the hip, welcome with open arms, rub shoulders with, shoot oneself in the foot...
skin in the game, game changer, change agent, strong suit, ground game, ground zero, inflection point, tipping point, playbook, page turner, singing from the same hymnal, singing a new tune, straight out of central casting, the devil’s in the details, take the bull by the horns, the canary in the coal mine, chickens coming home to roost, beat a dead horse, pony up, the straw that broke the camel’s back...
speak truth to power, break the glass ceiling, the writing’s on the wall, between a rock and a hard place, beyond the pale, take the wind out of the sails of, that ship has sailed, sinking ship, tidal wave, roller-coaster ride, gravy train, tanked, cratered, Rubik’s Cube, Rosetta Stone, Rolodex, poster child, problem child, rock star, pundit, national treasure, charter member, heavy hitter, heavy lifting, political football, throw a Hail Mary, full-court press, hit a home run, play with house money...
armed to the teeth, cut one’s teeth, rib tickler, spine tingling, pull the wool over the eyes of, pull the plug on, pull the trigger, loosen the reins, sweep under the carpet, throw under the bus, throw for a loop, read the riot act, lead the pack, the short end of the stick, at the drop of a hat, the jury is still out, hung out to dry..."
And ends with these:
fever pitch, pitch perfect, picture perfect, perfect storm, take by storm, eye of the storm, back burner, petri dish, echo chamber, hot button, hard wire, go viral, bingeable, blockbuster, on steroids, testosterone-laced, metastasize, contextualize, preternaturally, outsize, gobsmacked, turbocharged, weaponized, apocalyptic, existential …
"The Tip of the Iceberg," Michael Massing, New York Times, April 27, 2023.
The Bonus: Is found in the illustration at the top; an entire book of clichés.
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