Meaning: leave and don’t come back, or get lost. Use examples.
Rewrite 1: take a slow walk through fast traffic
Rewrite 2: take a walk and forget where you started from
Rewrite 3: take a jogis2b through a rottweiler’s yard
Rewrite 4: have a good runn21 through a bad neighborhood
Comment 1: There is in this cliché a hint of someone who doesn’t like to whomever the comment is addressed, more as a curse than a blessingn3. It’s about leaving and being careless about where you go.
Comment 2: In rewrite 2 above, I end the sentence with a preposition (from). Before I receive a host of e-mails in complaint, you should know that the requirement* to never end a sentence with a preposition is a guideline based on a myth. So says Copy Editor, a newsletter for professional editors. Furthermore, since clichés are based on the vernacular, moving the preposition into the body of the sentence (e.g., take a walk and forget from where you came) would sound awkward and forced.
*See usage note
More reading about clichés
What I found when I googled “clichés”:
• Business Jargon Protest Mugs Copy Contest: “Short lines to protest the ridiculous jargon and clichés that permeate business language...”
Sunday, November 13, 2005
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