Meaning: intoxicated (example)
Rewrite 1: High as a crop duster
Rewrite 2: High as a loon
Rewrite 3: Tumbling in the clouds
Rewrite 4: Partying past Everest
Rewrite 5: Flying with the Shuttle
Comment: I tried to give some sense of the euphoria of intoxication accompanied with a sense of being above board. Some of it has a double entendre nature to it. How would you rewrite or recast this cliché and keep its dual nature?
Feel free to discuss this on Twitter, too: @a_copywriter
___
More double entendres
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Friday, October 29, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Cliché: hen pecked
Meaning: males harassed by females (example)
Rewrite 1: sow slopped
Rewrite 2: bitch nipped
Rewrite 3: ewe butted
Rewrite 4: lioness mauled
Rewrite 5: apron whipped
Comment: I tried to stay with the female of the species until the last item, and then I tried to pick up on something that species would do to grapple with one of their own species.
Comment here or pop in for a comment on Twitter: @a_copywriter
____
Rewrite 1: sow slopped
Rewrite 2: bitch nipped
Rewrite 3: ewe butted
Rewrite 4: lioness mauled
Rewrite 5: apron whipped
Comment: I tried to stay with the female of the species until the last item, and then I tried to pick up on something that species would do to grapple with one of their own species.
Comment here or pop in for a comment on Twitter: @a_copywriter
____
Life with family animals
(commission may be paid on purchase)
Labels:
cliches,
hen pecked,
recasting cliches,
rewriting cliches
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Cliché: heard it through the grapevine
Meaning: gossip, "news" heard from unofficial sources (example 1, example 2)
Rewrite 1: heard it at the watercooler
Rewrite 2: received it on e-mail
Rewrite 3: rd it on txt
Rewrite 4: saw it on Facebook (or Twitter)
Rewrite 5: read it on Drudge
Rewrite 6: Saw it on E!
Comment: Some an updating of "technology" from grapevine to social media.
Say hello via Twitter: @a_copywriter
____
Legal ins and outs for writing about entertainment industry
(commission may be paid on purchase)
Rewrite 1: heard it at the watercooler
Rewrite 2: received it on e-mail
Rewrite 3: rd it on txt
Rewrite 4: saw it on Facebook (or Twitter)
Rewrite 5: read it on Drudge
Rewrite 6: Saw it on E!
Comment: Some an updating of "technology" from grapevine to social media.
Say hello via Twitter: @a_copywriter
____
Legal ins and outs for writing about entertainment industry
(commission may be paid on purchase)
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Cliché: heads up!
Meaning: Be alert, be watchful (example 1, example 2)
Rewrite 1: eyes open!
Rewrite 2: ears piqued!
Rewrite 3: blinders off!
Rewrite 4: on-off switches "on"!
Rewrite 5: plugs in the wall!
Comment: This is generally about keeping alert, being aware, but I thought it might also be about watching out for things we might overlook.
Share your thoughts on Twitter: @a_copywriter
___
More idioms to profit by
(commission may be paid on purchase)
Rewrite 1: eyes open!
Rewrite 2: ears piqued!
Rewrite 3: blinders off!
Rewrite 4: on-off switches "on"!
Rewrite 5: plugs in the wall!
Comment: This is generally about keeping alert, being aware, but I thought it might also be about watching out for things we might overlook.
Share your thoughts on Twitter: @a_copywriter
___
More idioms to profit by
(commission may be paid on purchase)
Labels:
cliches,
heads up,
recasting cliches,
rewriting cliches
Monday, October 25, 2010
Cliché: head over heels
Meaning: excited; turning bodyflips or cartwheels (example)
Rewrite 1: noggin over joggin
Rewrite 2: cap over socks
Rewrite 3: helmet over cleats
Rewrite 4: nose over toes
Rewrite 5: knees over shoulders
Comment: Most of these are just another way of saying the same thing, although I did at least change the general terms and order a bit. It might have been fun to say something more like "knocked into body flips" or "rolling like a Catherine's wheel."
Please stop by on Twitter and say hello: @a_copywriter
____
How the pros write about sports
(commission may be paid on purchase)
Rewrite 1: noggin over joggin
Rewrite 2: cap over socks
Rewrite 3: helmet over cleats
Rewrite 4: nose over toes
Rewrite 5: knees over shoulders
Comment: Most of these are just another way of saying the same thing, although I did at least change the general terms and order a bit. It might have been fun to say something more like "knocked into body flips" or "rolling like a Catherine's wheel."
Please stop by on Twitter and say hello: @a_copywriter
____
How the pros write about sports
(commission may be paid on purchase)
Labels:
cliches,
head over heels,
recasting cliches,
rewriting cliches
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Cliché: he's toast
meaning: facing certain defeat (example - be toast)
Rewrite 1: he's month-old biscuit
Rewrite 2: he's burnt bacon
Rewrite 3: he's melted ice
Rewrite 4: he's overdosed on Tobasco
Rewrite 5: he's past his use-by date
Comment: These all relate to food in different states of disaster. What other metaphors might you explore?
Share your thoughts on Twitter: @a_copywriter
____
Women and food
(commission may be paid on purchase)
Rewrite 1: he's month-old biscuit
Rewrite 2: he's burnt bacon
Rewrite 3: he's melted ice
Rewrite 4: he's overdosed on Tobasco
Rewrite 5: he's past his use-by date
Comment: These all relate to food in different states of disaster. What other metaphors might you explore?
Share your thoughts on Twitter: @a_copywriter
____
Women and food
(commission may be paid on purchase)
Labels:
cliches,
he's toast,
recasting cliches,
rewriting cliches,
toast
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Cliché: egg on your face, have
Meaning: embarrassed or look stupid (example)
Rewrite 1: catsup on your chin
Rewrite 2: soup on your tie
Rewrite 3: ink in your pocket
Rewrite 4: price tag on your sleeve
Rewrite 5: tear in your trousers
Comment: I tried to think of little accidents of which one might be caught unaware that would make you look foolish. What other kinds of situations might be embarrassing that could be expressed in this kind of cliché?
Share you thoughts with me on Twitter: @a_copywriter
____
Writing for well-being
(commission may be paid on purchase)
Rewrite 1: catsup on your chin
Rewrite 2: soup on your tie
Rewrite 3: ink in your pocket
Rewrite 4: price tag on your sleeve
Rewrite 5: tear in your trousers
Comment: I tried to think of little accidents of which one might be caught unaware that would make you look foolish. What other kinds of situations might be embarrassing that could be expressed in this kind of cliché?
Share you thoughts with me on Twitter: @a_copywriter
____
Writing for well-being
(commission may be paid on purchase)
Monday, October 11, 2010
Cliché: harebrained idea
Meaning: foolish, poorly thought out (example)
Rewrite 1: squirrelbrained idea
Rewrite 2: muttbrained idea
Rewrite 3: teenbrained idea
Rewrite 4: blondebrained idea
Rewrite 5: football-without-a-helmetbrained idea
Comment: These all tend to be the more stereotyped weak-minded-folk examples, but we all know that they don't apply to everyone in these groups. I encourage you to come up with better examples and share them here.
Stop by my place on Twitter and say hello: @a_copywiter
___
Writing to generate great ideas
(commission may be paid on purchase)
Rewrite 1: squirrelbrained idea
Rewrite 2: muttbrained idea
Rewrite 3: teenbrained idea
Rewrite 4: blondebrained idea
Rewrite 5: football-without-a-helmetbrained idea
Comment: These all tend to be the more stereotyped weak-minded-folk examples, but we all know that they don't apply to everyone in these groups. I encourage you to come up with better examples and share them here.
Stop by my place on Twitter and say hello: @a_copywiter
___
Writing to generate great ideas
(commission may be paid on purchase)
Labels:
cliches,
genius,
harebrained ideas,
ideas,
recasting cliches,
rewriting cliches
Friday, October 08, 2010
Cliché: hammered
Meaning: drunk (example)
Rewrite 1: ball-peened
Rewrite 2: nail-headed
Rewrite 3: bat-beaned
Rewrite 4: slammed silly
Rewrite 5: beer-whacked
Rewrite 6: shot slappy
Comments: I would like to have worked in being splattered or hit between the eyes with a 2 by 4 or something more evocative, but this list should do for a starter. What can you come up with?
Say "Hi!" on Twitter: @a_copywriter
___
Writing about construction?
(commission may be paid on purchase)
Rewrite 1: ball-peened
Rewrite 2: nail-headed
Rewrite 3: bat-beaned
Rewrite 4: slammed silly
Rewrite 5: beer-whacked
Rewrite 6: shot slappy
Comments: I would like to have worked in being splattered or hit between the eyes with a 2 by 4 or something more evocative, but this list should do for a starter. What can you come up with?
Say "Hi!" on Twitter: @a_copywriter
___
Writing about construction?
(commission may be paid on purchase)
Labels:
cliches,
drinking,
drunk,
hammered,
recasting cliches,
rewriting cliches
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