How old are your clichés?

As bulletin editors, we are cautioned about using clichés, those worn out, tired old bits of wisdom tightly woven into a few words. But maybe we should revisit the use of these sometimes colorful, sometimes tedious phrases from the past. You see, many clichés are quite old and deserve more reverence than we tend to give them in our monthly bulletins.

I really don't have an ax to grind (Ben Franklin, 1800) over the use of clichés, but I'd be in the dog house (Peter Pan, 1904) if I didn't attempt to shed some light (God, at the beginning) on the origins of some of our more famous clichés.

Once you understand the historical origins of clichés, like me, you will find yourself using them more frequently. All good writers know that you don't throw the baby out with the bathwater (George Bernard Shaw, 1909). If you want your article to have zest, throw in a cliché or two. Variety is the spice of life (William Cowper, 1785).

Clichés begin as simple phrases but come to describe in shorthand a meaning that may be entirely unrelated to the original phrase. For some they are the be-all and end-all (William Shakespeare, 1600) of oral and written communication. People who use clichés frequently really hold the fort (General Sherman, 1864) on the liberal use of clichés and it is they who keep them alive.

Women tend to use clichés more then men to punctuate their speech and, in all probability, that is why the female of the species is deadlier than the male (Rudyard Kipling, 1890) and why we say that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned (William Congrave, 1697).

So, fellow writers, let's loosen up (Elvis Presley, 1959) and keep up with the Joneses (Arthur R. Momand, 1913). Don't be afraid to use a cliché or two once in a while.

[In no way, shape or form does PROBE subscribe to the notion or suggestion of using clichés in barbershop bulletins or other forms of written communications. Ed.]