Written by Barbara when she was in high school, let's be clear

If life is like a bowl of cherries then old clichés are the pits. Speaking off the top of my head, I’d say that where clichés are concerned, some people believe the sky’s the limit. Indeed, I’ve been involved in some conversations where I’ve been up to my neck in the over-used phrases.

One would tend to think that those who use clichés excessively do not have much education. Well, you can’t always judge a book by is cover and the bare truth is clichés are used by all types. Speaking for myself, I wouldn’t touch a cliché with a ten-foot pole, but others can be as stubborn as a mule and refuse to see the absurdity in using a repeated and worn-out phrase.

Fortunately every cloud has its silver lining and, if one tries hard enough, one is able to avoid or at least tolerate the offense of hearing a cliché. Remember, it takes two to tango and you can always turn the other cheek and walk away.

I feel we should all dedicate ourselves to the total extinction of the cliché in the English language –nip it in the bud, so to speak. This is not as difficult as it may sound as long as everyone does his/her part. We must leave no stone unturned as we strive for a cliché-free society. Although it shall be difficult, we must first remove the cliché from all literature. From then on it will be smooth sailing. But for now we must not despair; it is always darkest before the dawn.

Perhaps the only difficulty in our quest we might encounter would be in detecting the offense. Some clichés are as sly as a fox, as cool as a cucumber, and even as slippery as an eel. However, we do have our education to fall back on. I’m sure armed with our training that any cliché we run into would hit us like a ton of bricks.

We must be careful, however, and not make haste. There is a fine line between a cliché and a proverb. Sometimes we can be skating on thin ice and so we must learn to toe the line. All that glitters is not gold. After all, a proverb, well, that’s a horse of a different color and certainly acceptable. I suggest burning a bit of the ol’ midnight oil and polishing up on the proverbs. That way there shall be no mistake.

Since one good turn deserves another others will follow our example, and dispense with using clichés altogether. Everyone will join the club and it shall be as in the old days. I predict that people shall conform to using the new type of unlettered language like peas in a pod. However, even then we shall have to watch our step; one cliché spoken, could be the kiss of death. Of my own restraint, I am certain. I could not more use a cliché than I could fly to the moon.

Yes, we must he rid of the cliché because it is an annoying and unnecessary part of our everyday conversations. It is also a sign of ignorance, much the same as saying “you know.” (Do you know what I mean?) But most of all, and last but not least, a cliché is a cliché is a cliché.