The Cliché’s the Thing
Pre-Write Exercise 3
Adapted lesson from Everyday Creative Writing: Panning for Gold in the Kitchen Sink by
Michael C. Smith and Suzanne Greenberg. Published by NTC Publishing Group, 1996.
The following is a paragraph riddled with clichés. It is not good writing. We should not use
clichés. However, in this exercise we will be forced to use them.
It was a decent living. Even though I worked like a dog with my nose to the grindstone, I ate
three square meals a day. Anyway, complaining wouldn’t get me anywhere. I got up when the
rooster crowed at the crack of dawn and went to bed when night fell. Weekends, I’d paint the
town red. Sundays I’d put on my Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes and go to church…
A cliché, at one time was original and witty, but through time and overuse they became stale,
stagnant, dull, predictable expressions that fail to catch our attention. To be creative we must
catch the attention of our reader with something new and fresh, surprising and original.
Below, I want you to list as many cliché’s as you can. I will add a list of clichés as well to help
you with the ultimate exercise.
Your ideas here
Some often heard clichés
_____________________________ as old as the hills
a tower of strength
_____________________________ as a crow flies
proud as a peacock
_____________________ ________ one thing or another
like a house on fire
_____________________________ to beat the band
sharp as a tack
_____________________________ the whole nine yards
smart as a whip
_____________________________ lock, stock, and barrel
_____________________________ gentle as a lamb
hard as a rock
_____________________________ everything but the kitchen sink
_____________________________ till hell freezes over
dead as a doornail
_____________________________ fair to middlin’
true to life
_____________________________ nine-to-five job
easy as pie
_____________________________ almighty dollar
as a matter of fact
_____________________________ there but for the grace of God
_____________________________ fair but firm
excuse me for living
_____________________________ bigger than life
federal case
_____________________________ around the clock
to tell the truth
_____________________________ a coon’s age
kicked the bucket
_____________________________ rock bottom
hightailed it out of here
_____________________________ a slow death
the bottom line
_____________________________ raining cats and dogs
_____________________________ out of the fire and into the pan
_____________________________ between a rock and a hard place
_____________________________ run this up a flagpole and see who salutes
_____________________________ a dark and stormy night
_____________________________ cry me a bucket of tears
_____________________________ dumb as a rock
a snake in the grass
_____________________________ can of worms
open Pandora’s box
_____________________________ lay in the bed you make
Using the clichés on the other side, mix and match them into a short poem (four or five lines) in
which you alter them in some small way so that they are unusual.
Sample:
I worked like a decent rooster, but
Crowing wouldn’t get me to Sunday, so
I went to bed when night cracked, and satisfied myself as
I ate the red grindstone and painted three square dogs a day.
The italicized phrases are changes to the following clichés:
I worked like a dog
Went to bed when night fell
Painted the town red
Put my nose to the grindstone
Ate three square meals
Every dog has his day.
Now it is your turn:
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