Readers: In April 2021, we listed words or phrases that were so clever, people overused them. That’s the definition of a cliché. Here are more examples:

• A clean bill of health.

• A senseless murder (When’s the last time you saw a sensible one?)

• An untimely death. (We’ll argue few people would say someone’s death was timely)

• Out of an abundance of caution…

• Right around the corner.

• It fell on deaf ears.

• They’re lucky to be alive.

• Worst-case scenario

• A drop in the bucket

• Bundle of joy

• “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family…” (Many people are sincere. But we surmise that many others, after saying this, don’t think about, or pray for, the family at all.)

• “He was at the wrong place at the wrong time." (Even if it wasn’t a cliché, it probably isn’t true. Rarely is a person at both the wrong place and the wrong time. A person caught in a gang shootout while waiting at a bus stop was at the right place at the wrong time. And a person waiting at a bus stop who stepped out into the path of the arriving bus was at the wrong place at the right time.)

Watch this on video! https://youtu.be/AcsAxDk5Fxo

Next time: We pick on TV news. Again.

Readers: "Something Went Horribly Wrong," features samples of bad writing we see nearly every day. You can participate! Be our duly deputized “grammar police:” Your motto: “To protect and correct.” Send in your photos of store signs, street signs, newspaper headlines, tweets, and so on. It doesn’t have to be a grammatical error. It can be just what we call “cowardly writing.” Include your name and home town so we properly can credit you. You're free to add a comment, although we reserve the right to edit or omit. Now get out there! Send to Eliot@eliotkleinberg.com

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NOTE: Eliot and Lou Ann are available for speaking engagements, and can travel. Reach us through the comments section. Just think of all of your employees getting back to work on a Monday, their heads filled with all the ways we’ve shown them to be better communicators!