Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Cliché: joined at the hip

(entered for 04.26.06)

Meaning: exceedingly close friendship or working relationship. Idiom.
Rewrite 1: coupled at the keyboard
Rewrite 2: attached by the phone line
Rewrite 3: connected at the coffee cup
Rewrite 4: wed at the water cooler

Comment: Alliteration isn’t necessary here, but it aids in the lyrical quality of the metaphor.

More reading about clichés
What I found when I
googled “clichés”:
Brain Bender: Mixed up clichés.

Note: By providing links to other websites I am only showing you what is out there about clichés – I am not endorsing any content or opinion expressed there.

Check out the searchable alphabetical list of all my cliché rewrites available in the archive list at the right.

2 comments:

William said...

Not exactly politically correct this one - as the simile is presumably that of conjoined (or Siamese) twins

Booksville Bookclub said...

I can see where you might think that, but this isn't necessarily so. This cliche usually isn't used in that sense, in a literal sense. It's usually used in the sense that two people are so associated with one another or spend so much time together it is as if they are inseparable; "joined at the hips" merely expresses the extent to which they are inseparable or they appear to be "as one." Still, if it bothers you, you should totally recast the reference. This isn't meant to excuse the cliche but to show ways to reword it.