How to Slay a Cliché

cliché: last hurrah

2012-01-23T11:19:00.000-04:00

Meaning: last effort or performance (example 1, example 2)

Rewrite 1: last huzzah
Rewrite 2: final boo-ya!
Rewrite 3: K-T'd yabba dabba doo
Rewrite 4: corralled yippee-eye-oh-ki-ay
Rewrite 5: final round of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow"

Comment: This is tied to the retirement of something or someone.

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cliché: Kodak moment, a

2011-12-22T12:02:00.001-04:00

Meaning: a wonderful, sentimental moment (sometimes meant satirically) (example 1, example 2)

Rewrite 1: a Kodachrome frame
Rewrite 2: a soft-focus moment
Rewrite 3: get all Kodacky on me
Rewrite 4: here's a picture shy on sincerity
Rewrite 5: a photo-op moment

Comment: The danger with this idiom is that with the demise of Kodak, the "Kodak moment" now may slip into obscurity or fall into a sense of the no-longer-relevant.
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cliché: knuckle under

2011-12-20T08:43:00.000-04:00

Meaning: consent reluctantly/give in (example)

Rewrite 1: fold to the uppercut
Rewrite 2: give in to the grimmace
Rewrite 3: cave to the nipple pinch
Rewrite 4: succumb to sarcasm
Rewrite 5: fall to a twisted plot

Comment: Faced with a set of knucles clenched under your chin, you might reluctantly bow to someone's demand. I've rewritten this idiom in that vein, then taken it in some "other" directions for fun.
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cliché: knuckle sandwich

2011-12-16T11:06:00.000-04:00

Meaning: a punch in the mouth (example)

Rewrite 1: fist brunch
Rewrite 2: bare knuckle salad
Rewrite 3: Bronx dental cleaning
Rewrite 4: five-finger lip enlargement
Rewrite 5: party punch served with a five-finger shot glass

Comment: The original was always so evocative and image provoking; I tried to keep these in a similar frame.
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cliché: knuckle down

2011-12-15T04:34:00.000-04:00

Meaning: get busy/work harder (example 1, example 2)

Rewrite 1: fist press
Rewrite 2: full body face press
Rewrite 3: full court grapple
Rewrite 4: muscle pin it
Rewrite 5: gang tackle it

Comment: I think in this instance, "knuckle down" means to bear down upon or bear your weight on something. I've attempted to wrestle this one with as many grappling metaphors as I could manhandle without getting sweaty and pulling a sciatic nerve.
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cliché: know where you stand

2011-12-12T12:16:00.000-04:00

Meaning: certain of your position (example)

Rewrite 1: know where your feet meet the peet
Rewrite 2: be one with your position
Rewrite 3: be certain of your soundings
Rewrite 4: stand firm with your roots
Rewrite 5: know where the wind can't blow you, the river can't move you, and the cattle can't run you over

Comment: This one, which took a few days to work on, can be both about current position and how you see things, so I tried to reflect both.
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cliché: know the score

2011-12-07T11:00:00.000-04:00

Meaning: aware of the facts or numbers/understand (example 1, example 2, example 3)

Rewrite 1: know the count
Rewrite 2: recite the numbers
Rewrite 3: deliver the outcome
Rewrite 4: handle the stats
Rewrite 5: replay the highlights

Comment: This idiom is often about sports scores, but there is also a use that is about musical score. I have kept it to sports but I'll bet you can think of rewrites for music.

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cliché: know the ropes

2011-12-06T09:32:00.000-04:00

Meaning: knowledge or experience (example 1, example 2, example 3)

Rewrite 1: know the knots
Rewrite 2: know the sea
Rewrite 3: know the roll of the ship
Rewrite 4: know when to duck, jump, and swerve
Rewrite 5: aware of the holes, lifts, and falls
Rewrite 6: know every branch on the tree

Comment: The origins of this idiom are acknowledged to be from the sea, but there are two ways to look at it: know the rigging or know how to get around on it in various sea weather. I try to suit both.

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cliché: knock out, a

2011-12-05T10:21:00.000-04:00

Meaning: a beautiful woman (example)

Rewrite 1: a beauty brain freeze
Rewrite 2: an EMP (Eyes Might Pop-out)
Rewrite 3: a power outage
Rewrite 4: a lines-down and lights-out
Rewrite 5: an E-EFFEN-5!
Rewrite 6: a femme fatality

Comment: It was hard to write something that knocks you out without being a negative, which the original clearly is not.

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cliché: knock on wood

2011-12-02T12:51:00.000-04:00

Meaning: superstitious act to avoid bad luck (example)

Rewrite 1: fist bump wood
Rewrite 2: high-five a tree
Rewrite 3: bonk an oak
Rewrite 4: knuckle a plank
Rewrite 5: back-hand some veneer
Rewrite 6: slap some ash

Comment: Not sure if in superstition these substitutions would be seen to work in the place of actually knocking on wood with your knuckles, but it would certainly work to freshen the language.

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cliché: kiss and tell

2011-12-01T12:06:00.000-04:00

Meaning: do in private then tell in public (example 1, example 2)

Rewrite 1: kiss and tweet
Rewrite 2: bed and blab
Rewrite 3: grab and brag
Rewrite 4: see and shill
Rewrite 5: expose-say!
Rewrite 6: blab-e-ography

Comment: This often describes an elicit affair or activity so many of these are kanted that way, but I also tried to add some that tilt toward other secret knowledge made public.
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cliché: king's ransom, a

2011-11-29T10:31:00.000-04:00

Meaning: a lot of money (example)

Rewrite 1: a royal dowry
Rewrite 2: a CEO's buyout
Rewrite 3: a whistleblower's hush fund
Rewrite 4: a lobbyist's expense account
Rewrite 5: a child's nap bribe

Comment: This idiom originated with ulterior motives, so I tried to stay with that theme in rewriting it, even if playfully so.
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Cliché: kick the bucket

2011-11-28T16:21:00.000-04:00

Meaning: to die (example)

Rewrite 1: kick over the chair
Rewrite 2: knock over the bucket
Rewrite 3: choke on the rope
Rewrite 4: trip into the tight loop of a noose
Rewrite 5: lose the wiggle-room battle with a noose

Comment: This idiom originates from a reference to suicide - tying a rope to a tree, hanging one's self by the rope, standing on a bucket, and then kicking the bucket out from beneath one's self. I've made these rewrites mostly based on that reference.

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Cliche: keep your nose to the grindstone

2011-09-20T09:42:00.002-04:00

Meaning: work, fool! (example)

Rewrite 1: Keep your hand to the plow handle
Rewrite 2: keep your eye on the page
Rewrite 3: keep your back to the barricade
Rewrite 4: keep your mind too busy to wander
Rewrite 5: keep your knees planted in the garden

Comment: Some of this about focus,some of this is about commitment. I tried to capture both in this rewrite.

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Cliche: keep your powder dry

2011-09-16T15:06:00.000-04:00

Meaning: reserve your resources (example)

Rewrite 1: keep your wick dry
Rewrite 2: keep your shot handy
Rewrite 3: keep the pantry stocked
Rewrite 4: keep the pump primed
Rewrite 5: keep the inkwell filled
Rewrite 6: keep the Reserves nearby

Comments: I tried to vary from close to the metaphor to wide of the metaphor but close to the idea. See how you do in rewriting this classic.

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Cliche: keep your hair on

2011-09-15T09:13:00.000-04:00

Meaning: be calm, don't over-react (example)

Rewrite 1: keep your wig on
Rewrite 2: keep your curls on
Rewrite 3: keep your fringe covered
Rewrite 4: keep your calm on
Rewrite 5: keep your cool on
Rewrite 6: don't lose your wig to your worries

Comment: Although this rewrite focuses more on hair and hair substitutes, there are surely more ways to rewrite this cliche. How else might you you say it conveying the same sense?

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Cliche: keep your eyes open (peeled)

2011-09-14T08:45:00.000-04:00

Meaning: be alert or watchful (example)

Rewrite 1: keep your sense of sight on the sense of action
Rewrite 2: be wide-eyed and super-detailed
Rewrite 3: watch with every eye you have
Rewrite 4: make sure the "eyes" have it
Rewrite 5: keep your senses on high alert

Comment: Making a direct translation into other idioms or metaphors for this cliche was difficult so I had to stretch it a little, but I think I accomplished my goal. Good luck on your attempts.

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An eye on poetry
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Cliche: Keep your chin up!

2011-09-13T09:31:00.001-04:00

Meaning: remain upbeat (example)

Rewrite 1: Chin into the wind!
Rewrite 2: Chin above the water!
Rewrite 3: Make your chin your prow through troubled waters.
Rewrite 4: Eyes open, nose parallel to the ground, and chin leading forward!
Rewrite 5: Lead with the chin for the win!

Comment: Although I usually try to vary the subjects of my metaphors, in this case I thought I'd maintain the chin as the single focus and vary the idioms around it. How else might you rewrite this cliche?

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Growing idiomatically
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Cliché: keep your fingers crossed

2011-07-19T09:36:00.000-04:00

Meaning: hope for your wanted outcome (example)

Rewrite 1: keep your fingers x'd
Rewrite 2: keep your fingers locked
Rewrite 3: keep your fingers tied
Rewrite 4: keep your knuckles knotted
Rewrite 5: keep your digits tangled

Comment: A variant is "cross your fingers," so you could also play with that in this rewrite.

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Twisted words and phrases
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Cliché: keep an eye on you

2011-07-15T18:14:00.000-04:00

Meaning: constantly watch or monitor you (example)

Rewrite 1: keep a lens focused on you
Rewrite 2: know where you are even when you don't know where you are
Rewrite 3: know you better than yesterday's most embarrassing memory
Rewrite 4: be on you like spot on a dog
Rewrite 5: stay on you like lint on a suit

Comment: This idiom can be about being on the watch for an up-and-coming new star or on the lookout for a troublemaker, or someone in between. I've taken the latter because it seemed more fun. What can you do with this one?

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Speaking brilliantly of parts
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Cliché: keep it down

2011-07-06T13:45:00.000-04:00

Meaning: be quiet! (example)

Rewrite 1: tap it down
Rewrite 2: keep it low
Rewrite 3: keep it under a decible
Rewrite 4: put a silencer on it
Rewrite 5: soundproof it
Rewrite 6: mute it

Comment: "It" is noise, "down" is volume. Stow it, buddy. Any creative way to say it is better than "Keep it down."

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Writing in idioms
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Cliché: just around the bend

2011-07-05T17:26:00.000-04:00

Meaning: around the next curve in the road (example)

Rewrite: beyond the dip in the road
Rewrite: up past the light and to the right
Rewrite: next stop past the turnpike
Rewrite: just yonder a bit
Rewrite: up the road a piece

Comment: This is often a visual cue in absence of measured distance, so almost any noticable change in landscape will do. The last two are more nebulous but probably reasonable alternatives.

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Speaking plain American
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Cliché: jockeying for position

2011-06-23T12:56:00.000-04:00

Meaning: racing/competing for position (example 1, example2)

Rewrite 1: jockeying for show, place, or win
Rewrite 2: dancing for last couple standing
Rewrite 3: elbowing for a place in the line
Rewrite 4: fighting over bargains at the sale
Rewrite 5: toe-stretching for tallest

Comment: This really boils down to competition, and there are many ways to win. How would you reword it?

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Write like a good sport
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Cliché: a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

2011-06-22T15:09:00.000-04:00

Meaning: the longest, most arduous task still has a beginning (example)

Rewrite: a walk of a thousand steps begins with the first footfall
Rewrite: a cross-country drive begins as a drive down the street
Rewrite: a day at the shoppe begins by stepping out of the house
Rewrite: a read of a thousand pages begins with a single word
Rewrite: a lengthy shopping list still begins with the first item
Rewrite: cleaning a big mess begins by mopping the first spill

Comment: Part of preserving the essence of this Chinese proverb is repeating its sensibility and rhythm.

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More Chinese wisdom
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Cliché: jump on the bandwagon

2011-06-21T10:55:00.000-04:00

Meaning: get with what is popular (example)

Rewrite: leap onto the stage
Rewrite: get your name on the winner's list
Rewrite: get all military in the march
Rewrite: take the top spot in the parade
Rewrite: show your groove on the holiday float

Comment: Part of this idiom is about support, part of it is about grabbing your moment in the spotlight.

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Writing with wit
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Cliché: jump in with both feet

2011-06-20T09:31:00.000-04:00

Meaning: do something quickly and completely (example)

Rewrite: leap in with both feet
Rewrite: jump in with all fours
Rewrite: commit without counting toes
Rewrite: leave no toe behind
Rewrite: plant both heels firmly into it

Comment: I tried to keep the foot metaphor alive in the idiom. How would you rewrite this?

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More on idioms
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Cliché: jack of all trades and a master of none, a

2011-06-17T11:18:00.000-04:00

Meaning: average talent with no special skills

Rewrite 1: a mean hauler of sails who can't tie off a knot
Rewrite 2: he can swing a mean hammer but can't hit a nail
Rewrite 3: all tool belt and no tools
Rewrite 4: good at coloring inside the box but can't stay in the lines
Rewrite 5: Mr. Handy, Mr. Thumbs

Comment: A "jack" was an average seaman while a "master" was a highly skilled craftsman on a ship, so this idiom originates with the early sea service. A jack might be good at doing general duties on ship, but he wouldn't be rated a master until he could do extraordinary work. I started by trying to rewrite these to give some sense of those skills or lack of said, then generalized from there.

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Sounding like a sea dog
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Cliché: it's a game of inches

2011-06-16T18:02:00.000-04:00

Meaning: a sport or effort with minimal gains or losses

Rewrite 1: it's a game of small advances
Rewrite 2: it's a game of not-quite-theres
Rewrite 3: it's a contest of minor gains
Rewrite 4: it's a match of major disappointments
Rewrite 5: it's a sport of near misses

More possible rewrites:

Rewrite 6: a game of barely movable objects
Rewrite 7: a game of well planted heels
Rewrite 8: a game of well defended options
Rewrite 9: a game of steel-staked positions
Rewrite 10: a game of hard fought lines
Rewrite 11: a contest of won'ts
Rewrite 12: a match between wills

Comment: This was a tough rewrite for me, trying to find new ways to recast the "inches" in a meaningful way. In the end, I decided to redefine the end-product and not the measurement. In the send batch of rewrites, I wrote about less sports-related efforts. Where would you have taken this?

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Speaking of sports
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Cliché: in the bag

2011-04-08T18:03:00.000-04:00

Meaning: achieved; achievement certain (example)

Rewrite 1: bagged it, dude!
Rewrite 2: tagged, dragged, and bagged
Rewrite 3: locked in
Rewrite 4: glued and screwed
Rewrite 5: water tight

Comment: I went from hunting metaphors to security and craftsmanship metaphors. Let's see what you can do with it.

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Cliché: it's a lemon

2011-04-07T16:52:00.000-04:00

Meaning: useless; doesn't work (example)

Rewrite 1: squeeze it, you might get lemonade
Rewrite 2: two more and you can make a meringue pie
Rewrite 3: it has a hint of citrus
Rewrite 4: this thing's so sour it's turning lemon yellow
Rewrite 5: if this isn't a lemon, it's the most yellow lime I've ever seen

Comment: Rather than paralleling the "it's a ..." construction, I tried to work with ways of expressing a lemony quality to say the same thing.

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Speaking of Lemony Things
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Cliché: it takes two to tango

2011-03-21T08:23:00.000-04:00

Meaning: conflict or other relations requires two (example 1, example 2)

Rewrite 1: it takes two to duet
Rewrite 2: it takes two to tangle
Rewrite 3: it takes two to shake hands
Rewrite 4: it takes two to share
Rewrite 5: it takes two sides to go to war

Comment: Some of my examples oversimplify relationships for the sake of providing an example, but you can easily modify the example or the statement to suit the situation.

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Idioms for younger writers
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Cliché: it isn't rocket science

2011-02-26T09:41:00.001-04:00

Meaning: it isn't so advanced (example)

Rewrite 1: it isn't particle physics
Rewrite 2: it isn't quantum computing
Rewrite 3: it isn't galactic entanglement
Rewrite 4: it isn't advanced calculus
Rewrite 5: it isn't superstructure engineering

Comment: This is about using the complex to imply the simple. It doesn't have to be science - what about advanced crochet technique or organizational chart engineering?

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Spruce up your idioms
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Cliché: isn't all it's cracked up to be

2011-02-24T16:18:00.000-04:00

Meaning: it's disappointing (example)

Rewrite 1: isn't the egg the goose gaggled over
Rewrite 2: isn't the omellette the chef's commotion stirred up
Rewrite 3: isn't the pile-up the four-mile backup promised
Rewrite 4: isn't the gift all the wrapping presents
Rewrite 5: isn't the raise the boss's praises implied

Comment: "Cracked up" means "praise" in its original though seldom-used form, but it's difficult to find another way to repeat that, so I went for other things that "crack up" that might create a similar intention. Thus, the egg references and the pile up. Can you think of another way to bring back the original sense of praise in this idiom?

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Playing devil's advocate this once
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Cliché: it's no use crying over spilled milk

2011-02-23T12:06:00.000-04:00

Meaning: don't sweat the little things you can't change (example)

Rewrite 1: no use crying over burnt toast
Rewrite 2: no use moaning over crumbled crackers
Rewrite 3: no use stressing over 404 error page returns
Rewrite 4: no use pouting over pennies down sewer drains
Rewrite 5: no use mourning chipped fingernails

Comment: I tried to retain the flavor of life's little disappointments, which is what the original intones.

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Picking up more idioms
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Cliché: Is it soup yet?

2011-02-18T13:15:00.000-04:00

Meaning: is it ready? (example)

Rewrite 1: soup poured?
Rewrite 2: done cookin'?
Rewrite 3: table set yet?
Rewrite 4: still in the oven?
Rewrite 5: pie still cooling?

Comment: I've maintained the food or eating metaphor, but there should be plenty of others you could use. For instance, building: Walls up? Decorating: Paint dry? Programming: Code up?

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Food on your keyboard
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Cliché: skating on thin ice

2011-02-16T14:52:00.001-04:00

Meaning: taking a big risk (example)

Rewrite: swimming in deep waters
Rewrite: walking on ice
Rewrite: upstaging a diva
Rewrite: running with scissors
Rewrite: skipping a stiff rope

Comment: This cliché was the suggestion of Jacques. Thanks, Jacques! I tried to come up with different risky scenarios without sounding too rediculous.

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More on metaphors
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Cliché: in your dreams

2011-02-11T10:11:00.001-04:00

Meaning: a challenge of disbelief (example)

Rewrite: in your mind's eye
Rewrite: in the world of make-believe
Rewrite: as the fantasy flies
Rewrite: with your imaginary friends
Rewrite: when you're on meds

Comment: This is usually said as a taunt, so think more in terms of sarcasm.

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More on dreams
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Cliché: about as pleasant as a trip to the dentist

2011-02-10T15:34:00.000-04:00

Meaning: anxiety inducers

Rewrite 1: about as pleasant as a trip to the principal's office
Rewrite 2: about as fun as a trip to the emergency room
Rewrite 3: all the joy of an appointment with the IRS
Rewrite 4: with the anticipation of a call from a telemarketer
Rewrite 5: with the calm of being surrounded by pickpockets

Comment: My thanks to author @jaypapasan for suggesting this challenging idiom, which may or may not rise to the definition of cliche. Jay says it attracts 77k hits on Google, a respectable showing. However, I couldn't find it on any searches that identified as a classic written cliche. Rather, it showed up as more of a cultural cliche, an idea that keeps popping up in references, which is that nothing is a fearful as a trip to the dentist. So perhaps our job here isn't so much to rewrite an idiom as to suggest there may be equal or worse things to fear as a visit with Dr. Tooth.

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To make us all feel better about that trip to the dentist

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Cliché: in the nick of time

2011-02-09T09:07:00.000-04:00

Meaning: just in time (example)

Rewrite 1: in the tick of a tock
Rewrite 2: before the zeroes clicked over
Rewrite 3: before the bell buzzed
Rewrite 4: before a spark becomes a flame
Rewrite 5: before he could hit "send"

Comment: The last couple of examples are more moments than time, yet I think they equally apply.

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More on idioms
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Cliché: in the hot seat

2011-02-08T11:26:00.000-04:00

Meaning: difficult position (example)

Rewrite: in the frying pan
Rewrite: in the flood plain
Rewrite: in a war zone
Rewrite: on the nail head
Rewrite: over an open manhole
Rewrite: holding a live wire

Comment: I tried to not just concentrate on "hot" situations, but also included difficult circumstances.

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Words of conflict
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Cliché: in the clear

2011-02-07T09:59:00.000-04:00

Meaning: blameless or innocent (example 1)(example 2)

Rewrite 1: passed clean suspect inspection
Rewrite 2: traveling barrier-free
Rewrite 3: the fog surrounding you has lifted
Rewrite 4: the dark cloud hovering over you just rained out
Rewrite 5: the trash talk has shifted to somebody else

Comment: There is an other use for this idiom related to cashflow, but all the references I found online were to blamelessness.

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Cliché: in the cards, it's

2011-02-06T09:54:00.000-04:00

Meaning: predicatble (example, scroll down), predicted (example)

Rewrite: Swami has fortold it
Rewrite: I found it in the Bible Code
Rewrite: you will find it in the star charts
Rewrite: I knew it! I could have run the table on it!
Rewrite: it was known before they shuffled the cards

Comment: This is more about foreknowledge than predictability.

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Cliché: in on the ground floor

2011-02-05T11:05:00.000-04:00

Meaning: involved from the beginning (example)

Rewrite 1: in at the lobby level
Rewrite 2: entering before the crowd arrives
Rewrite 3: begin where everything is "up"
Rewrite 4: start with the hand-over of the keys
Rewrite 5: Getting to 60 from zero

Comment: The last one was inspired by Top Gear (UK), which I was watching at the time.

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Cliché: in harm's way

2011-02-04T15:48:00.000-04:00

Meaning: making yourself available to be harmed (example)

Rewrite 1: in harm's glide path
Rewrite 2: on harm's playground
Rewrite 3: on harm-friendly grounds
Rewrite 4: playing on harm's turf
Rewrite 5: right where harm wants you

Comment: There was plenty of room to work using just harm as the central keyword, but I'd like to see what you might come up with for words other than harm.

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Writing about crime
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Cliché: I'm not getting any younger

2011-01-24T10:04:00.000-04:00

Meaning: impatience; literally, I'm getting old waiting for you (example)

Rewrite: you take so long, my wrinkles are getting bigger than my boobs
Rewrite: I'm on my second pair of dentures waiting for you
Rewrite: the seasons seem to come and go with you
Rewrite: you might think I'm looking for dirt under my nails; I'm actually watching them grow
Rewrite: my alarm clock is having a nervous breakdown over here

Comment: Is it me, or does this sound like Billy Crystal playing the old man saying these lines? It isn't intentional. Maybe it's because the original idiom is kind of a punch line, anyway.

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Use humor in your writing
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Cliché: bet dollars to doughnuts, I'll

2011-01-17T16:23:00.000-04:00

Meaning: bet something of significance against something less significant (example)

Rewrite: bet dollars to dimes
Rewrite: bet hub caps to lug nuts
Rewrite: bet Cadillacs to Yugos
Rewrite: bet screws to glue sticks
Rewrite: bet gallons to pints
Rewrite: bet trees to saplings

Comment: There's present here a confidence that you're betting something of higher value against something of lesser value because you're going to win.

Stop by Twitter to say hellow: @a_copywriter
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Just what do those idioms mean?
(commission may be paid on purchase)

Cliché: if I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times

2011-01-12T11:40:00.000-04:00

Meaning: frustration at having to repeat something too often (example)

Rewrite 1: I must be in an echo chamber, I'm saying it again!
Rewrite 2: I could swear I've heard me say this before
Rewrite 3: Let me say it for the thousand-and-first time...
Rewrite 4: maybe you didn't hear it the first thousand times
Rewrite 5: I've said this hundreds of times already, but let me repeat one last time for effect

Comment: There's a lot of sarcasm present in these rewrites, perhaps because the original is so close to stating the case with only some exaggeration. Can you say this in a meaningful way without sarcasm?

Say hello when you're on Twitter: @a_copywriter
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Some writing calls for sarcasm

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Cliché: ice water in his veins

2011-01-03T18:10:00.000-04:00

Meaning: cold reserve such that nothing bothers him (example)

Rewrite 1: Arctic water in his veins
Rewrite 2: glacier runoff in his arteries
Rewrite 3: cold beer in his pipes
Rewrite 4: refrigerator coolant in his lungs
Rewrite 5: running on freezing rain and hailstones
Rewrite 6: oozes smoothies through his heart

Comment: I'm thinking very cold and very slow to excite.

Give me a shout on Twitter: @a_copywriter
___
Getting back to nature
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Cliché: hump day

2010-12-29T11:18:00.001-04:00

Meaning: Wednesday, day mid-week that gets you over the "hump" (example)

Rewrite 1: camel back day
Rewrite 2: road bump day
Rewrite 3: leaf pile day
Rewrite 4: Bell Curve day
Rewrite 5: high jump day
Rewrite 6: leap frog day

Comment: At first I thought of other kinds of humps or bumps or piles you get over, then I thought of obstacles you go over to get to the other side. There are lots of creative ways to say "I'm half way over the week."

Stop by for some conversation on Twitter: @a_copywriter
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For when you run out of words
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Cliché: get into hot water

2010-12-28T10:26:00.000-04:00

Meaning: get into trouble (example)

Rewrite: gulp hot coffee
Rewrite: dive into boiling water
Rewrite: skinny dip in a scalding pool
Rewrite: ride some white water
Rewrite: cross a river at a deep spot

Comment: There are lots of ways to use water as a metaphor for getting into trouble and I've attempted to use some of them here.

Come say hello on Twitter: @a_copywriter
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How they might say it at sea

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Cliché: hot enough to fry an egg

2010-12-27T11:41:00.000-04:00

Meaning: ambient or surface temperature is extreme

Rewrite 1: hot enough to steam an egg
Rewrite 2: hot enough to fry a burger
Rewrite 3: hot enough to grill a cheese sandwich
Rewrite 4: hot enough to broil a steak
Rewrite 5: hot enough to melt steel
Rewrite 6: so hot you could prep s'mores on the sidewalk!

Comment: It's usually said to indicate how hot a surface is, such as a sidewalk or car hood, but it could also apply to how hot the air is or how hot the day is.

Find me on Twitter to share your rewrites: @a_copywriter
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More about food and drink in speech
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Cliché: happy holidays

2010-12-24T08:45:00.000-04:00

Whatever faith or tradition is dear to you, may you experience the joy of this special season. Merry Christmas. Happy Kwanzaa. Happy Hanukkah. Happy Festivus. Although "happy holidays" has become a cliché in many ways, it is always meant to express wishes for a time of joy in a spirit of good will.

May peace, good will, and joy be yours now and into the coming new year.

Alan Eggleston (Wordsworth) and family
"How to Slay a Cliché"

Cliché: horsing around

2010-12-22T12:53:00.000-04:00

Meaning: improper, unruly behavior (example)

Rewrite 1: making like caged monkeys
Rewrite 2: running with the fools
Rewrite 3: bouncing around like cage fighters on sugar
Rewrite 4: careening around like a European road rally driver
Rewrite 5: having a Black Friday freak-out

Comment: I always associated this idiom with playful unruliness, but I can see it getting out-of-hand and becoming more destructive, so I've attempted to treat the various degrees of unruliness here. Feel free to take it to whatever extreme you need to fit your need.

When you're on Twitter, stop by and say hello: @a_copywriter
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A little horse sense with idioms
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Cliché: hook, line, and sinker

2010-12-16T09:17:00.000-04:00

Meaning: completely (example)

Rewrite 1: bait, line, and switch
Rewrite 2: site, link, and virus
Rewrite 3: hook, line, and spam
Rewrite 4: text, headline, and disclaimer
Rewrite 5: spine, cover, and pages
Rewrite 6: cereal, box, and special offer

Comment: Although in usage this usually takes on the connotation of "being had," it can also have the more denotative meaning of "getting it all." I tried to cover both here.

Follow me on Twitter: @a_copywriter
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The art of the sell
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Cliché: hit the nail on the head

2010-12-14T16:21:00.000-04:00

Meaning: to be exact (example)

Rewrite 1: hit the thumb on the nail
Rewrite 2: slotted the screw square
Rewrite 3: fed the thread through the needle, first try
Rewrite 4: pinned the tail on the donkey square on the ass
Rewrite 5: walked a line so fine even a tailor couldn't stitch cleaner

Comment: This one was a challenge, thinking of other ways to express manual exactitude. What did I miss?

If you're ever on Twitter, stop by and say hello: @a_copywriter
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Making it easier to talk carpentry metaphors
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Cliché: hit the hay, to

2010-12-13T11:37:00.000-04:00

Meaning: go to bed (example)

Rewrite 1: hit the bale
Rewrite 2: hit the mattress
Rewrite 3: cuddle with the pillows
Rewrite 4: ruffle the linens
Rewrite 5: snuggle in z's
Rewrite 6: join the bed buds

Comment: I went for more colloquial wording here.

I'm on Twitter - follow and say hello! @a_copywriter
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Write more picturesquely
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Cliché: hit below the belt, to

2010-12-10T04:34:00.000-04:00

Meaning: hurtful, unfair hit (example 1, example 2)

Rewrite 1: going for the groin
Rewrite 2: nuking the no-hit zone
Rewrite 3: knock-out punch between the side pockets
Rewrite 4: aiming for the target of last resort
Rewrite 5: landing one that will make everyone wince

Comment: This interpretation favors the end-product or area versus the intention. How would you rewrite it differently to suggest someone is intentionally dealing unfairly?

Please say hello on Twitter: @a_copywriter
___

How to play fair in everyday living

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Cliché: the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing

2010-12-09T08:32:00.000-04:00

Meaning: lack of coordination (example)

Rewrite 1: the left hand and right hand refuse to shake
Rewrite 2: the left hand and right hand aren't talking
Rewrite 3: the left hand is signing Latin, the right hand is signing Greek
Rewrite 4: the left hand is lost and the right hand won't ask for directions
Rewrite 5: the left side of the brain doesn't know what the right side of the brain is thinking
Rewrite 6: the cows don't know what the horses are doing

Comment: The last one kind of comes out of left field, but I wanted something different that still illustrated the point.

Give me a shout on Twitter: @a_copywriter

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Bringing the hands together

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Cliché: his bark is worse than his bite

2010-12-07T15:42:00.001-04:00

Meaning: not as big a threat as they sound (example 1, example 2)

Rewrite 1: its growl is worse than its pounce
Rewrite 2: his scream is worse than his karate chop
Rewrite 3: her silence is worse than her slap
Rewrite 4: her threat is worse than her payback
Rewrite 5: the "crack" is worse than the wound

Comment: This covers a wide assortment of situations, evolving from a dog, to a cat, to a Ninja, to a scorned woman, to an angered competitor, to a gun.

Share your example on Twitter: @a_copywriter
____

(book reference removed)

Cliché: hindsight is 20-20

2010-11-16T10:19:00.000-04:00

Meaning: better seen after the fact (example)

Rewrite 1: rear-view vision is 20-20
Rewrite 2: hindsight is keener vision
Rewrite 3: foreseen with perfect hindsight
Rewrite 4: seen with the precision of past experience
Rewrite 5: this time you'd do it with prescience
Rewrite 6: rose tinted glasses have nothing on lenses calibrated for the past

Comment: This one was immeasurably harder to rewrite than I imagined. How would you rewrite it?

Also share your thoughts on Twitter: @a_copywriter
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Revising fiction
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Cliché: highway robbery

2010-11-04T07:25:00.000-04:00

Meaning: overly high fees (example 1, example 2)

Rewrite 1: bank mugging
Rewrite 2: credit card hold-up
Rewrite 3: middle class jacking
Rewrite 4: desperation taxation
Rewrite 5: economic pickpocketing

Comment: Rather than trying to parallel each part of the original terms as I often do, this time I tried to stay true to the sense of the whole idiom and recast that.

Do you tweet? Come sing on Twitter: @a_copywriter
___

More about writing and money

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Cliché: high maintenance

2010-11-02T13:45:00.000-04:00

Meaning: needs a lot of care/attention (example 1, example 2)

Rewrite 1: High steady-state rate
Rewrite 2: High keeping-up-with-the-Joneses mantra
Rewrite 3: Max-out-the-cards care
Rewrite 4: Major wallet-drain pain
Rewrite 5: 24-karat spending habit

Comment: At first, I had trouble with this one. I was on the verge of putting it off for another time, when I suddenly found my stride.

Give me your 2-cents worth here and on Twitter: @a-copywriter
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Learn about high-maintenance relationships
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Cliché: high as a kite

2010-10-29T10:50:00.000-04:00

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
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More double entendres
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Cliché: hen pecked

2010-10-28T16:31:00.000-04:00

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
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Life with family animals

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Cliché: heard it through the grapevine

2010-10-27T08:11:00.000-04:00

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
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Legal ins and outs for writing about entertainment industry
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Cliché: heads up!

2010-10-26T07:05:00.000-04:00

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
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More idioms to profit by
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Cliché: head over heels

2010-10-25T13:59:00.000-04:00

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
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How the pros write about sports
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Cliché: he's toast

2010-10-13T01:05:00.000-04:00

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
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Women and food
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Cliché: egg on your face, have

2010-10-12T12:41:00.000-04:00

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
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Writing for well-being
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Cliché: harebrained idea

2010-10-11T08:58:00.001-04:00

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
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Writing to generate great ideas
(commission may be paid on purchase)

Cliché: hammered

2010-10-08T12:17:00.001-04:00

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?
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Cliché: hardheaded

2010-07-29T08:35:00.000-04:00

Meaning: hard to get through to or to effect change (example)

Rewrite 1: cement headed
Rewrite 2: steel haired
Rewrite 3: mind with the welcome mat turned upside down
Rewrite 4: brain with the access panel welded shut
Rewrite 5: opinions guarded better than the vault at Fort Knox

Comment: There is a sense of this idiom which is quite literal, but mostly it means stubborn; thus, the rewrites about close-mindedness.

Share your thoughts with me on Twitter: @a_copywriter
...
Speaking of stubborn opinions
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Cliché: hard to swallow

2010-07-27T12:59:00.000-04:00

Meaning: hard to believe or accept (example)

Rewrite 1: hard to chew

Rewrite 2: difficult load to lift

Rewrite 3: cumbersome package to carry

Rewrite 4: hard to hoe

Rewrite 5: rocky bit of earth to dig

Comment: There are actually a lot of interesting ways to recast this idiom, depending on the situation. I'll bet you can find even more inventive ways to reword this bitter spoonful of medicine.

Say hello on Twitter: @a_copywriter

...

If you've ever thought of writing about food

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Cliché: happy as a clam at full tide

2010-07-26T09:22:00.000-04:00

Meaning: contented (example)

Rewrite 1: happy as a worm at the bottom of the compost pile
Rewrite 2: happy as moth with a fresh beam of light
Rewrite 3: happy as a cat with a full ball of yarn
Rewrite 4: happy as a dog at an archeological dig
Rewrite 5: happy as a cow greeted with a warm pair of hands

Comment: Unlike "happy as a lark" this isn't about unabated happiness, this is about satisfaction and contentment. So the rewrites or recasts should be about situations where the subject has either found himself/herself in an unusual situation or an ecstatic moment. I'd love to see what you come up with.

Tweet me: @a_copywriter
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Talking about nature...
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Cliché: happy as a lark

2010-07-24T09:29:00.000-04:00

Meaning: happy and full of life (example)

Rewrite 1: hamming it up like a hummingbird
Rewrite 2: frolicsome as a goldfinch
Rewrite 3: nutty as a nuthatch
Rewrite 4: carefree as a canary
Rewrite 5: boisterous as a bronco

Comment: Although this idiom is more about acting happy and carefree, it can also be about being free and noisy - thus, the final rewrite. You're only limited by the sense in which you need to express the metaphor.

Follow me on Twitter: @a_copywriter
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Getting creative about nature writing
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Cliché: happy camper

2010-07-22T09:54:00.000-04:00

Meaning: an easily satisfied person or easily made comfortable (example)

Rewrite 1: elated outdoorsman
Rewrite 2: blissful backpacker
Rewrite 3: contented tent stalker
Rewrite 4: smiling sleepingbagger
Rewrite 5: smug smooresman

Comment: To recreate the flavor of this idiom I think you need to relate back to the essence of the camping experience. The more you can blend them into the language the closer you will come to capturing its spirit.

Tell me about it on Twitter: @a_copywriter
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The language of camping
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My internship for sporting goods dealer: More than just writing about camping equipment

Cliché: haste makes waste

2010-07-12T14:25:00.000-04:00

Meaning: acting too quickly brings ruin (example)

Rewrite 1: urgency creates emergencies
Rewrite 2: speed up and screw up
Rewrite 3: quickly makes sickly
Rewrite 4: fast is surpassed
Rewrite 5: pressed for time means messed on design

Comment: This is one of those idioms that's popular partly because of its rhyme, so I tried to stay with that attitude while I was rewriting. See what you can come up with.

Tweet me: @a_copywriter
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Writing with rhyme and reason
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Cliché: half-baked idea, a

2010-07-09T13:43:00.000-04:00

Meaning: an idea or concept not completely thought through (example)

Rewrite 1: half-boiled idea
Rewrite 2: half-stirred suggestion
Rewrite 3: half-primed plan
Rewrite 4: half-dressed thought
Rewrite 5: half-knotted scheme
Rewrite 6: barely seared concept

Comment: Although many of these rewrites are cooking related I did try to vary the metaphor. They are all related to ideas, but I'm betting you can think of some other applications for applying this idiom.

Share your rewrites with all of us in Comments. Stop by and say hello on Twitter: @a_copywriter
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More words on food
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Cliché: go belly up, to

2010-07-01T08:52:00.000-04:00

Meaning: failure, bankruptcy, even death (example 1, example 2)

Rewrite 1: tank with the fishes
Rewrite 2: suffer a goldfish swirly
Rewrite 3: go all rigor mortise on us
Rewrite 4: time in the elephant burial grounds
Rewrite 5: headed for the hereafter

Comment: It's hard to write metaphorically about the death of something without sounding maudlin or even insensitive. I tried to cover various caricatures of death for more picturesque speech.

How would you twist this one? Send me a shout-out via Twitter: @a_copywriter
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Writing about death
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Cliché: go through the motions

2010-06-30T09:57:00.000-04:00

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
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Speaking of magic
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Cliché: go for broke

2010-06-25T09:43:00.000-04:00

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
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Living on the edge
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Cliché: don't give a hoot, I

2010-06-18T15:35:00.000-04:00

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

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Cliché: glutton for punishment, a

2010-06-17T13:01:00.000-04:00

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
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For when you want to write well on food
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Cliché: gloss over, to

2010-06-15T08:59:00.002-04:00

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
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Quoting from your feminine side
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Cliché: give my right arm

2010-06-14T12:35:00.000-04:00

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
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Add humor to your writing
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Cliché: get your foot in the door

2010-06-11T12:29:00.000-04:00

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
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If you are trying to edge your way through the door
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Cliché: get your feet wet

2010-06-10T09:17:00.000-04:00

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
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Language isn't static
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Cliché: get (have) your ducks in a row

2010-06-09T01:14:00.000-04:00

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
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Getting organized
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Cliché: get your arms around it

2010-06-02T13:23:00.000-04:00

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.

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Measuring and writing for science
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Cliché: get with the program

2010-06-01T18:01:00.000-04:00

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
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Writing more persuasive advertising copy
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Cliché: get a room

2010-05-31T15:00:00.000-04:00

Meaning: suggestion to stop inappropriate displays of affection (example)

Rewrite 1: move it to the bedroom
Rewrite 2: should we get our own room?
Rewrite 3: put a wrap on that present and give it as a gift later
Rewrite 4: freeze that pose and we'll put it on display at the art museum
Rewrite 5: isn't that a scene written for film ... an X-rated film?

Comment: This cliché is usually repeated with some sarcasm, so the rewrites are presented in the same tone.

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Cliché: get a life

2010-05-30T09:58:00.001-04:00

Meaning: focus on something more worthwhile (example)

Rewrite 1: get a new hobby
Rewrite 2: find a different obsession
Rewrite 3: joust with a different windmill
Rewrite 4: dude, read a book, play a game, go into a coma, but drop this, okay?
Rewrite 5: Obi-Wan says, "This isn't the cause you were looking for...move along!"

Comment: This cliché is usually a put down, so I rewrote with that in mind.

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