Cliché: go through the motions

Meaning: half-hearted or faked effort (example 1, example 2)


Rewrite 1: go through the commotions
Rewrite 2: pull a slight-of-motivation
Rewrite 3: deliver a hand puppet effort
Rewrite 4: pull a dead rabbit out of his hat
Rewrite 5: give it less than he's got


Comment: The idea here is to suggest how little life or earnestness there is in the effort. I thought adding a suggestion of sleight-of-hand or faked magic might be interesting, too.


How would you rewrite it? Give me a shout on Twitter: @a_copywriter
...
Speaking of magic
(commission may be paid on purchase)

Cliché: go for broke

Meaning: to risk or bet everything; try with all your might (example 1, example 2)


Rewrite 1: throw in the house and kids
Rewrite 2: go for tilt
Rewrite 3: bet to win the poorhouse
Rewrite 4: sweat half dollars
Rewrite 5: arrrr! till you pop an artery


Comment: Look at this arsenal of rewrites as walking the full line of meanings, from risk to betting to effort. Man, I'm tired!


Tell me what you would have said. I'm on Twitter:@a_copywriter
...
Living on the edge
(commission may be paid on purchase)

Cliché: don't give a hoot, I

Meaning: don't care about something (example 1, example 2)

Rewrite 1: don't give a tweet

Rewrite 2: don't give a bee's buzz

Rewrite 3: don't give a donkey's bray

Rewrite 4: don't give a leaf's chance in a gale

Rewrite 5: don't give a dwarf's wink in a toss 

Comment: The last recast of this cliché is probably more appropriate to "midget tossing," but I like the way the words work together better in this use.

What rewrites have you thought to use? Share them on Twitter: @a_copywriter

...

Nature writing

(commission may be paid on purchase)

Cliché: glutton for punishment, a

Meaning: someone who relishes in difficulty (example 1, example 2)


Rewrite 1: porker for punishment
Rewrite 2: pigging out on trouble
Rewrite 3: foodie for foolishness
Rewrite 4: bon vivant for burden
Rewrite 5: homesick for the hostile


Comment: The synonyms for "glutton" tend toward the gourmand, but the realistic side of this cliché is that these are people who over consume rather than enjoy the finer elements of something. That's why I've rewritten toward that aspect. You might need to work on the other.


Share what you come up with - I'm on Twitter: @a_copywriter
...
For when you want to write well on food
(commission may be paid on purchase)

Cliché: gloss over, to

Meaning: to minimize the ugly with the prettier (example 1, example 2)


Rewrite 1: do a paint job
Rewrite 2: cover the dents and bumps
Rewrite 3: brick over the chasm
Rewrite 4: cover the thorns with rose pedals
Rewrite 5: soften the sow with face powder
Rewrite 6: cover ugly with ylgu (better written than said)


Comment: Part of my attempt to recast this cliché was to restate the idiom in another way, part of it was to restate the purpose suggested behind the words. Let me know what you come up with.


Share your thoughts on Twitter: @a_copywriter
...
Quoting from your feminine side
(commission may be paid for purchase)

Cliché: give my right arm

Meaning: trade something very valuable for something else (example 1, example 2)


Rewrite 1: give my right hand
Rewrite 2: sell my right eye
Rewrite 3: barter the right side of my brain
Rewrite 4: trade my first-born child
Rewrite 5: give my winning lottery ticket
Rewrite 6: deal now and I'll double the offer - both my right and left arms


Comment: This presupposes someone favors their right side of anything - you can easily change these to the left if you're left handed or left sided.


Stop by on Twitter and share your rewrites with me: @a_copywriter
...
Add humor to your writing
(commission may be paid for purchase)

Cliché: get your foot in the door

Meaning: keep the opportunity alive (example)


Rewrite 1: block the door open
Rewrite 2: get past the door
Rewrite 3: keep the door and the mind open
Rewrite 4: the door is the sack but the chair is the completed pass
Rewrite 5: get your behind in the interview chair


Comment: Most of these cliché recasts center more on the job interview, but many can apply to sales calls and other situations where you want to get past a gatekeeper and before a potential "sale."


Check out my Twitter page and say hello! @a_copywriter
...
If you are trying to edge your way through the door
(commission may be paid for purchase)

Cliché: get your feet wet

Meaning: do or experience something for the first time (example 1, example 2)


Rewrite 1: put a hair out of place
Rewrite 2: get your clothes dirty
Rewrite 3: nick your tools a little
Rewrite 4: get the shovel dirty
Rewrite 5: knock the shine off the nail head
Rewrite 6: put some dents in the chrome


Comment: Most of these are about first-time experiences, but many of them could also be about letting go of inhibitions - which the cliché could also be about. Sometimes a cliché has a main meaning but its meaning morphs as people add textures of understanding to its use.


Have a cliché you'd like to see me recast? Tell me here or on Twitter: @a_copywriter
...
Language isn't static
(commission may be paid for purchase)

Cliché: get (have) your ducks in a row

Meaning: bring order to the world (example 1, example 2)


Rewrite 1: get your geese in formation
Rewrite 2: bring your circus into line
Rewrite 3: stack your food into pyramids
Rewrite 4: form your elements into periodic tables
Rewrite 5: make lists of your thoughts


Comment: This was a hard one to rewrite without simply mirroring the original. It's all about putting things out of order into order, and I tried to be as varied in the subject matter as possible.


Come say "Hi!" when you're on Twitter: @a_copywriter
...
Getting organized
(commission may be paid for purchase)

Cliché: get your arms around it

Meaning: understand something fully (grasp it) (example)


Rewrite 1: grasp it with both arms
Rewrite 2: hug it with your mind
Rewrite 3: wrap your mind around it
Rewrite 4: measure it all the way around the waist
Rewrite 5: lift it full weight


Comment: This cliché is about grasping the full extent of a situation, so I tried to vary the idiom by describing ways you might view something weighty or unwieldy in a way that would let you appreciate its full measure.


Follow me on Twitter: @a_copywriter
...
Measuring and writing for science
(commission may be paid for purchase)

Cliché: get with the program

Meaning: do what was laid out before you (example)


Rewrite 1: get with the plan
Rewrite 2: follow the schematic
Rewrite 3: read the map
Rewrite 4: draw on the feed
Rewrite 5: tap the brain
Rewrite 6: follow the grooves


Comment: Two possible senses of the cliché here: the more caustic "do what we told you to do" or the invitation to "join up!" 


Please follow me on Twitter: @a_copywriter
...
Writing more persuasive advertising copy
(commission may be paid for purchase)