Cliché: stuck out like a sore thumb

(entered for 11.27.05)

Meaning: very evident or easily seen. Use examples.
Rewrite 1: stuck out^1b like a missing tooth
Rewrite 2: stuck out like an extra thumb
Rewrite 3: as noticeable as a third leg
Rewrite 4: as easy to miss as a building with no windows

Comment: Lots of imaginative possibilities makes this a fun rewrite, especially if you’re looking at appendages or things on the face. It’s not quite so easy to rewrite based on other missing or excessive things.

More reading about clichés
What I found when I googled “clichés”:
• Cliches: The Great Ear closers from The Playwriting Seminars. “…you had better change the words if you can't change actors.”