cliché: knock on wood

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: can’t see the forest for the trees

Meaning: can’t see the whole for observing the details
Rewrite 1: can’t see the garden for the flowers
Rewrite 2: can’t see the street for the traffic
Rewrite 3: can’t see the home for the house plan
Rewrite 4: missing the curve for the plot points

Comment: I threw you a curve with the last rewrite.

Check out the searchable alphabetical list of my cliché rewrites with the archive list at the right.