Thursday, April 15, 2010

Cliché: death by a thousand cuts

Meaning: a slow and painful loss (example)


Rewrite 1: death by a thousand needles
Rewrite 2: death by shrapnel
Rewrite 3: death by medical drip
Rewrite 4: loss of a thousand souls
Rewrite 5: bleeding by a thousand leeches
Rewrite 6: blinking away of a night's stars


Comments: Wasn't that morbid! I moved from methods of death to senses of loss, which are common uses of this cliché. Now I need a stiff drink.


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