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Clichés

Author: Nigel Fountain

Publisher: Michael O'Mara Books

Published: 2012-09-06

Total Pages: 150

ISBN-13: 184317796X

At the end of the day, when it comes to getting your head around clichés, everybody seems to be singing from the same hymn sheet. Clichés have become such a familiar part of the English language and people's everyday speech that many are now trite, meaningless and often quite irritating. This book looks at clichés in their many forms - once useful but overworked catch phrases ('move the goal posts'), worn-out sayings ('all hands on deck'), pointless phrases used to conceal a weak argument ('to be perfectly honest'), technical terms used out of context ('collateral damage'), and many others. It shows where they came from and, with examples from people who ought to know better, why they should be avoided. Entertaining and informative, this collection of clichés really is the best thing since sliced bread . . .

Talking in Clichés

Author: Stella Bullo

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2022-11-03

Total Pages: 211

ISBN-13: 1108580319

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For decades, social perspectives, and even academic studies of language, have considered clichés as a hackneyed, tired, lazy, unthinking and uninspiring form of communication. Authored by two established scholars in the fields of Systemic-Functional Linguistics and Discourse Studies and Pragmatics, this cutting-edge book comprehensively explores the perception and use of clichés in language from these complementary perspectives. It draws data from a variety of both written and spoken sources, to re-interrogate and re-imagine the nature, role and usage of clichés, identifying the innovative and creative ways in which the concepts are utilised in communication, interaction, and in self-presentation. Observing a rich, complex layering of usage, the authors deconstruct the many and varied ways in which clichés operate and are interdependently constructed; from the role they play in discourse in general, to their functions as argumentative strategies, as constructs of social cognition, as politeness strategies, and finally as markers of identity.

Death Sentences

Author: Don Watson

Publisher: Gotham

Published: 2006-05-04

Total Pages: 212

ISBN-13: 9781592402052

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From one of Australia's best-known writers and public intellectuals comes a funny and profound polemic about the sorry state of public language and what can--and must--be done about it.

It's Been Said Before

Author: Orin Hargraves

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 249

ISBN-13: 0199315736

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In this book, Orin Hargraves provides a concise and lively guide to the most abused phrases in the English language today.

The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread

Author: Nigel Fountain

Publisher: Reader's Digest

Published: 2012-10-11

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781606525678

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This entertaining book takes an in-depth look at hundreds of common expressions in their many forms—where they came from, what they mean, how they’ve evolved over time, and their prominence in today’s society. Clichés, those trite little phrases that often get a point across quickly and efficiently, have become such a familiar part of the English language and people’s everyday speech. This entertaining book takes an in-depth look at hundreds of these common expressions in their many forms—where they came from, what they mean, how they’ve evolved over time, and their prominence in today’s society. Inside you’ll discover hundreds explored and explained, such as... · “Thinking outside the box” · “All hands on deck” · “My way or the highway” · “To be perfectly honest” · Technical terms, like “collateral damage” and “pushing the envelope” · And many others! You’ll quickly discover why this fun little compendium is truly the best thing since sliced bread!

In a Manner of Speaking

Author: Colin McNairn

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2015-04-28

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 1632208989

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What do “the whole kit and caboodle,” “the whole shebang,” “the whole megillah,” “the whole enchilada,” “the whole nine yards,” “the whole box and dice,” and “the full Monty” have in common? They’re all expressions that mean “the entire quantity,” and they’re all examples of the breadth and depth of the English-speaking world’s vocabulary. From the multitude of words and phrases in daily use, the author of this delightful exploration into what we say and why we say it zeroes in on those expressions and sayings and their variations that are funny, quirky, just plain folksy, or playfully dressed up in rhyme or alliteration. Some may have become clichés that, as it’s said with “tongue in cheek,” should be “avoided like the plague.” Others have been distorted, deemed politically incorrect, or shrouded in mystery and must bear some explanation. Among the topics the author delves into are expressions that shouldn’t be taken literally (“dressed to kill” and “kick the bucket”), foreign expressions that crept into English (“carte blanche,” “carpe diem,” and “que sera, sera”), phrases borrowed from print ads and TV commercials (“where there’s life, there’s Bud” and “where the rubber meets the road”), animal images (“a barrel of monkeys” and “chasing your tail”), and food and drink (“cast your bread upon the water,” “chew the fat,” “bottom’s up!”, and “drink as a lord”). Here’s a book for everyone who delights in the mysteries of language and the perfect gift for all the “wordies” in your life.

Deep South

Author: Paul Theroux

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 485

ISBN-13: 0544323521

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The travel writer Paul Theroux turns his unflinching eye on an American South too often overlooked. He finds there a paradoxical place, full of incomparable music, unparalleled cuisine, and yet also some of the nation's worst schools, housing, and unemployment rates. On road trips spanning four seasons, wending along rural highways, Theroux visits gun shows and small-town churches, laborers in Arkansas, and parts of Mississippi where they still call the farm up the road 'the plantation.' He talks to mayors and social workers, writers and reverends, the working poor and farming families ... the unsung heroes of the south, the people who, despite it all, never left, and also those who returned home to rebuild a place they could never live without

Catch Phrases, Cliches and Idioms

Author:

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2012-01-25

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780786467600

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Catch phrases such as "shop till you drop," cliches like "life begins at forty" and idioms such as "talk the hind leg off a donkey" have long enriched the English language. Here is a collection of thousands of familiar expressions--a treasure trove of idea-starters and memory-joggers that will make for more imaginative creative writing. An advertising copywriter working on a campaign for, say, a granola-peanut product can easily find the instantly-recognizable phrase "Energy Crunch"--a clever and informative headline. Each phrase is cross-referenced by key word. Thus "raining cats and dogs," for example, appears under "cat," "dog" and "rain." In most cases, various forms of the word are listed under the root word. So under "run" you will find not only sayings that include the word "run," but those that include "running," "runneth," "runner" and "run-around."

Football Cliches

Author: Adam Hurrey

Publisher:

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781472220387

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A wonderfully insightful analysis of the language of soccer from the creator of footballcliches.comIn what other context do soccer fans use the words "aplomb" or "derisory"? Why don't we use "rifle" as a verb on the other six days of the week? Why do aggrieved midfielders feel the instinctive need to make a giant ball-shaped gesture with both hands after a mistimed tackle is punished? The more Adam Hurrey watched the sport, the more he began to spot the recurring mannerisms, behaviors, opinions, and iconography that were mindlessly repeated in thesports media. Some cliches are ridiculous, some are hilariouslyoutdated, some have survived through their sheer indisputability. Here, featuring gloriously pseudo-scientific diagrams and the inimitable writing style that made footballcliches.com a smash hit, they are covered in all their glory."

The Tyranny of Clichés

Author: Jonah Goldberg

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2013-04-30

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 1595231021

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“An indispensable and enduring field guide to the arguments the left makes—and the ones it tries to avoid.” —The Claremont Review of Books According to Jonah Goldberg, if the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist, the greatest trick liberals ever pulled was convincing themselves they’re not ideological. Today, “objective” journalists, academics, and “moderate” politicians peddle some of the most radical arguments by hiding them in homespun aphorisms. Barack Obama casts himself as a disciple of reason: He’s a pragmatist, opposed to the ideology and drama of the Right, solely concerned with “what works.” And today’s liberals follow his lead, spouting countless clichés such as: • One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter: Sure, if the other man is an idiot. Was Martin Luther King Jr. a terrorist? Was Bin Laden a freedom fighter? • Violence never solves anything: Really? It solved our problems with King George III and ended slavery. • We need complete separation of church and state: In other words, all expressions of faith should be barred from politics . . . except when they support liberal programs. With humor and passion, Goldberg dismantles these and many other Trojan horses that liberals use to cheat in the war of ideas. He shows that the Progressive tradition of denying an ideological agenda while pursuing it vigorously under the false flag of reasonableness is alive and well. And he reveals how this dangerous game may lead us further down the path of self-destruction.