Meaning: You can't get something from a thing that doesn't have it (example)
Rewrite 1: can't squeeze orange juice out of an apple
Rewrite 2: can't squeeze milk out of barn wood
Rewrite 3: can't make a stack of nickels out of a pile of nails
Rewrite 4: can't tap maple syrup from an oak stump
Rewrite 5: can't tap the stream of a bottomless well
Comments: This cliché is usually said of trying to get money or value from someone who is broke or without resources; however, it is also said of trying to tap other resources that don't exist or make something of another thing that doesn't make sense. I've attempted to address all those senses.
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Thursday, April 08, 2010
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
Cliché: (let's) face it
Meaning: confront the facts or the truth (example)
For: my good friend @maniactive (say "Hi!" on Twitter)
Rewrite 1: go nose-to-nose with the facts
Rewrite 2: get one-on-one with the truth
Rewrite 3: stare at the offending news
Rewrite 4: look the ugly monkey in the eye
Comment: "Face it" is usually an emotional response to exasperation or frustration or an in-your-face retort to baiting or taunting. At worst, it's given when we haven't a lot of time to spend defending our position or helping someone rationalize their disbelief. At best, it's provided when options are few. Often, it's become a habit-response like "ya know" or "so" at the beginning of a response. Adding "let's" at the front seems to be less confrontational, as an invitation to face the facts.
Although you can try some of these rewrites, if you're bothered by the habitual nature of using "face it" as a response, a better course might be to first wean yourself from it by substituting other similar phrases, like "Look,..." or "Face facts,..." or the more colloquial, "see the light" or "reality check!" Try rotating use among them. You'll become more aware of saying these things and it will be work trying to change. Over time, stop using each of the substitutes until you no longer use any of them. If you catch yourself saying, "Face it," immediately correct yourself, even if mentally.
The other option for habitual use is to stop without adjusting (cold turkey, another cliché). I used to catch myself beginning a sentence with "Uh..." and I stopped myself by mentally catching myself and replaying the situation over in my head and later practicing what I said without the verbal lapse. You can do this in this situation, too. Practice giving answers without saying, "Face it" at the beginning.
I hope this helps!
Catch me on Twitter: @a_copywriter
For: my good friend @maniactive (say "Hi!" on Twitter)
Rewrite 1: go nose-to-nose with the facts
Rewrite 2: get one-on-one with the truth
Rewrite 3: stare at the offending news
Rewrite 4: look the ugly monkey in the eye
Comment: "Face it" is usually an emotional response to exasperation or frustration or an in-your-face retort to baiting or taunting. At worst, it's given when we haven't a lot of time to spend defending our position or helping someone rationalize their disbelief. At best, it's provided when options are few. Often, it's become a habit-response like "ya know" or "so" at the beginning of a response. Adding "let's" at the front seems to be less confrontational, as an invitation to face the facts.
Although you can try some of these rewrites, if you're bothered by the habitual nature of using "face it" as a response, a better course might be to first wean yourself from it by substituting other similar phrases, like "Look,..." or "Face facts,..." or the more colloquial, "see the light" or "reality check!" Try rotating use among them. You'll become more aware of saying these things and it will be work trying to change. Over time, stop using each of the substitutes until you no longer use any of them. If you catch yourself saying, "Face it," immediately correct yourself, even if mentally.
The other option for habitual use is to stop without adjusting (cold turkey, another cliché). I used to catch myself beginning a sentence with "Uh..." and I stopped myself by mentally catching myself and replaying the situation over in my head and later practicing what I said without the verbal lapse. You can do this in this situation, too. Practice giving answers without saying, "Face it" at the beginning.
I hope this helps!
Catch me on Twitter: @a_copywriter
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
Cliché: big as life
Meaning: large, on a grand scale (example)
Rewrite 1: big as the genetic code
Rewrite 2: big as the biosphere
Rewrite 3: big as the sky and the ground it covers
Rewrite 4: large as the Amazon basin
Rewrite 5: as encompassing as the Yellowstone caldera
Rewrite 6: as grandiose as the Grand Canyon
Comment: To say something is "big as life" (or large as life) is to nearly complete the metaphor. It's hard to find equals to something that already states the case for size or completeness. Therefore, you go for ideas that still get across an immensity of size and scope, depending on the size and scope of the subject. It can be done.
Say "Hi!" on Twitter: @a_copywriter
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Learn your way around figures of speech
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Rewrite 1: big as the genetic code
Rewrite 2: big as the biosphere
Rewrite 3: big as the sky and the ground it covers
Rewrite 4: large as the Amazon basin
Rewrite 5: as encompassing as the Yellowstone caldera
Rewrite 6: as grandiose as the Grand Canyon
Comment: To say something is "big as life" (or large as life) is to nearly complete the metaphor. It's hard to find equals to something that already states the case for size or completeness. Therefore, you go for ideas that still get across an immensity of size and scope, depending on the size and scope of the subject. It can be done.
Say "Hi!" on Twitter: @a_copywriter
...
Learn your way around figures of speech
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Friday, April 02, 2010
Cliché: bee in her bonnet
Meaning: angry or upset (example)
Rewrite 1: bee in her bouffant
Rewrite 2: squirrel in her skirt
Rewrite 3: hive in the attic
Rewrite 4: rats in the trash can
Comment: Think of vexing situations involving nature and you have an opportunity for a recast. I started close to the cliché and moved away from it, staying in the theme. Also, I found one other interpretation of the idiom: an obsessive idea, which I didn't address in the rewrite.
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Help with idioms
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Rewrite 1: bee in her bouffant
Rewrite 2: squirrel in her skirt
Rewrite 3: hive in the attic
Rewrite 4: rats in the trash can
Comment: Think of vexing situations involving nature and you have an opportunity for a recast. I started close to the cliché and moved away from it, staying in the theme. Also, I found one other interpretation of the idiom: an obsessive idea, which I didn't address in the rewrite.
Find me on Twitter and say "Hi!": @a_copywriter
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Help with idioms
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Thursday, April 01, 2010
Cliché: April Fools Day
Meaning: a day of playing pranks on the unsuspecting
Rewrite 1: April D-oh! Day
Rewrite 2: April Palm to Your Forehead Day
Rewrite 3: April Prank a Poor Soul Day
Rewrite 4: April People with Too Much Free Time on Their Hands Day
Rewrite 5: April People Who Aren't Half as Smart as They Think They Are Day
Comment: The term probably isn't much of a cliché, but the concept is. I personally hate the day as a waste of time, although there are some fairly genius and harmless pranks responsibly pulled. I offer this rewrite as an homage to them. The rest of you -- get a life! ;-)
Catch me on Twitter (but don't prank me!): @a_copywriter
Rewrite 1: April D-oh! Day
Rewrite 2: April Palm to Your Forehead Day
Rewrite 3: April Prank a Poor Soul Day
Rewrite 4: April People with Too Much Free Time on Their Hands Day
Rewrite 5: April People Who Aren't Half as Smart as They Think They Are Day
Comment: The term probably isn't much of a cliché, but the concept is. I personally hate the day as a waste of time, although there are some fairly genius and harmless pranks responsibly pulled. I offer this rewrite as an homage to them. The rest of you -- get a life! ;-)
Catch me on Twitter (but don't prank me!): @a_copywriter
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Cliché: between a rock and a hard place
Meaning: between difficult choices or hard decisions (example)
Rewrite 1: between a wreck and a run-in
Rewrite 2: between the pool ball and the cue stick
Rewrite 3: between a hammer and a nail head
Rewrite 4: between an excuse and a rationale
Rewrite 5: between a lake and loch
Comment: At the end, I took this from being about being caught between difficult situations to looking at situations that are called something different but are really very much alike. That covers some slight perversions of the use of the idiom.
Meet me on Twitter: @a_copywriter
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More help with metaphors
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Rewrite 1: between a wreck and a run-in
Rewrite 2: between the pool ball and the cue stick
Rewrite 3: between a hammer and a nail head
Rewrite 4: between an excuse and a rationale
Rewrite 5: between a lake and loch
Comment: At the end, I took this from being about being caught between difficult situations to looking at situations that are called something different but are really very much alike. That covers some slight perversions of the use of the idiom.
Meet me on Twitter: @a_copywriter
...
More help with metaphors
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Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Cliché: as the crow flies
Meaning: in a straight line, by the shortest route (as a crow would fly) (example)
Rewrite 1: as the plane flies
Rewrite 2: as the gaggle travels
Rewrite 3: as the wind flows
Rewrite 4: as the clouds cross
Rewrite 5: as the stars pass overhead
Comment: Crows fly place to place versus some of the examples I've given, which are things that over, thus avoiding turns, hills, valleys, detours, etc. Planes do apply to the original example, because they fly directly place to place, although not so much if they end up stacking over a landing site. So, be careful of your metaphors. The important thing is getting there directly, in as short a route as possible.
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More help with metaphors
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Rewrite 1: as the plane flies
Rewrite 2: as the gaggle travels
Rewrite 3: as the wind flows
Rewrite 4: as the clouds cross
Rewrite 5: as the stars pass overhead
Comment: Crows fly place to place versus some of the examples I've given, which are things that over, thus avoiding turns, hills, valleys, detours, etc. Planes do apply to the original example, because they fly directly place to place, although not so much if they end up stacking over a landing site. So, be careful of your metaphors. The important thing is getting there directly, in as short a route as possible.
...
More help with metaphors
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Monday, March 29, 2010
Cliché: zip it!
Meaning: close or shut as with a zipper, usually a directive for the mouth or voice
Rewrite 1: staple it!
Rewrite 2: sew it!
Rewrite 3: clamp it!
Rewrite 4: crimp it!
Rewrite 5: glue it!
Rewrite 6: press it!
Comment: There are many ways to secure something that you can use as exchanges for this less common idiom. Keep in mind that there are other uses for the phrase, too. In the technological age, it may be a reference to the ZIP drive and in the non-technological sense it may be a reference to speeding something along, as by speeding the mail using the ZIP code.
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Rewrite 1: staple it!
Rewrite 2: sew it!
Rewrite 3: clamp it!
Rewrite 4: crimp it!
Rewrite 5: glue it!
Rewrite 6: press it!
Comment: There are many ways to secure something that you can use as exchanges for this less common idiom. Keep in mind that there are other uses for the phrase, too. In the technological age, it may be a reference to the ZIP drive and in the non-technological sense it may be a reference to speeding something along, as by speeding the mail using the ZIP code.
...
More help with writing expressively
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Saturday, March 27, 2010
Cliché: your goose is cooked
Rewrite 1: your potatoes are mashed
Rewrite 2: your steak is fried
Rewrite 3: your chocolate has melted
Rewrite 4: the letter is mailed
Rewrite 5: the words are in print
Comment: "Your goose is cooked" often has an almost fatalist quality to it suggesting consequences will follow and now your fate is decided. I've written a range of possible recasts that go from the simple "something devastating has happened" to the "something is now beyond your control" quality, but there is a fuller range you could explore.
Find me on Twitter: @a_copywriter
...
Sorry I was unable to slay more clichés this week. Too many things happened this week that prevented it -- I have higher hopes for next week!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Cliché: a wet blanket
Meaning: Someone who or something that discourages (example 1) (example 2)
Rewrite 1: a warm, dank night
Rewrite 2: a cold sheet on a cold night
Rewrite 3: a power outage at a gamer con
Rewrite 4: a tire mired in mud
Comment: "A warm blanket" is an evocative metaphor for something that discourages, in this case, that dampens or smothers enthusiasm. I was initially going for other things that evoked a sense response, then broadened the meaning to other situations that might discourage by getting in the way or interrupting progress.
Find me on Twitter: @a_copywriter
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Working more with metaphors
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Rewrite 1: a warm, dank night
Rewrite 2: a cold sheet on a cold night
Rewrite 3: a power outage at a gamer con
Rewrite 4: a tire mired in mud
Comment: "A warm blanket" is an evocative metaphor for something that discourages, in this case, that dampens or smothers enthusiasm. I was initially going for other things that evoked a sense response, then broadened the meaning to other situations that might discourage by getting in the way or interrupting progress.
Find me on Twitter: @a_copywriter
...
Working more with metaphors
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Monday, March 22, 2010
Cliché: watching the clock
Meaning: eager to leave or stop doing something (example 1, example 2)
Rewrite 1: watching the sweep hand
Rewrite 2: listening for the timer to beep
Rewrite 3: watching for the sun to set
Rewrite 4: looking for "the end"
Rewrite 5: looking for an article stop
Comment: I looked for things besides an actual clock that represented the end to something, thus: the sweep hand of a clock that ticked off minutes, the sound of a timer that signaled the end of a specific time, the words that often signal the end of a movie, and the graphic device some publications use to show that an article stops.
Find me on Twitter: @a_copywriter
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Help recasting trouble words
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Rewrite 1: watching the sweep hand
Rewrite 2: listening for the timer to beep
Rewrite 3: watching for the sun to set
Rewrite 4: looking for "the end"
Rewrite 5: looking for an article stop
Comment: I looked for things besides an actual clock that represented the end to something, thus: the sweep hand of a clock that ticked off minutes, the sound of a timer that signaled the end of a specific time, the words that often signal the end of a movie, and the graphic device some publications use to show that an article stops.
Find me on Twitter: @a_copywriter
...
Help recasting trouble words
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Saturday, March 20, 2010
Cliché: up the ante
Meaning: increase the cost, size, or importance of something especially something of risk (example 1, example 2)
Rewrite 1: up the price of admission
Rewrite 2: increase the down payment
Rewrite 3: accelerate your buy-in
Rewrite 4: tinker with the ticket
Rewrite 5: graduate the anxiety level
Rewrite 6: pump up the game
Comment: Most of these involve the cost, but there is far more room to recast size or importance.
Catch me on Twitter: @a_copywriter
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Empower your word power
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Rewrite 1: up the price of admission
Rewrite 2: increase the down payment
Rewrite 3: accelerate your buy-in
Rewrite 4: tinker with the ticket
Rewrite 5: graduate the anxiety level
Rewrite 6: pump up the game
Comment: Most of these involve the cost, but there is far more room to recast size or importance.
Catch me on Twitter: @a_copywriter
...
Empower your word power
(commission may be paid on purchase)
Monday, March 15, 2010
Cliché: take the bull by the horns
Meaning: confront a difficult problem head on or confidently tackle a difficult problem (example 1, example 2)
Rewrite 1: Take the rhino by the horn
Rewrite 2: Take the lion by the mane
Rewrite 3: Grab the rottweiler by the whiskers
Rewrite 4: Stand your ground against the tremor
Rewrite 5: Face the gale and damn the flood
Comments: Obviously, these are all metaphorical. I wouldn't want any of you to stand before an approaching tornado in the hope of out-nerving it, for instance.
Don't forget to check the alphabetic listing of cliches I've already rewritten. Look in the nav bar just below the title.
Find me on Twitter: @a_copywriter
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Help for rewriting clichés
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Rewrite 1: Take the rhino by the horn
Rewrite 2: Take the lion by the mane
Rewrite 3: Grab the rottweiler by the whiskers
Rewrite 4: Stand your ground against the tremor
Rewrite 5: Face the gale and damn the flood
Comments: Obviously, these are all metaphorical. I wouldn't want any of you to stand before an approaching tornado in the hope of out-nerving it, for instance.
Don't forget to check the alphabetic listing of cliches I've already rewritten. Look in the nav bar just below the title.
Find me on Twitter: @a_copywriter
...
Help for rewriting clichés
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Saturday, March 13, 2010
Cliché: take the gloves off
Meaning: play or act more aggressively, less guardedly (example)
Rewrite 1: take the padding off
Rewrite 2: shed the wuss pads
Rewrite 3: drop the kiddie protectors
Rewrite 4: play to lose some skin
Rewrite 5: resort to roughy rules
Comment: I've written to the idea of dropping artificial protectants, using more sarcastic language, but it doesn't have to be that way. You could just as easily work it toward more natural conditions or more agile play. Ask yourself what the gloves represent and what taking them off means in your circumstance.
Check out the new alphabetic list, now built into the navigation in my blog. I'm still working with the format.
Join me on Twitter: @a_copywriter
...
Another resource on clichés
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Rewrite 1: take the padding off
Rewrite 2: shed the wuss pads
Rewrite 3: drop the kiddie protectors
Rewrite 4: play to lose some skin
Rewrite 5: resort to roughy rules
Comment: I've written to the idea of dropping artificial protectants, using more sarcastic language, but it doesn't have to be that way. You could just as easily work it toward more natural conditions or more agile play. Ask yourself what the gloves represent and what taking them off means in your circumstance.
Check out the new alphabetic list, now built into the navigation in my blog. I'm still working with the format.
Join me on Twitter: @a_copywriter
...
Another resource on clichés
(commission may be paid on purchases)
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Cliché: shoestring budget
Meaning: limited resources or of lowest financial means (example)
Rewrite 1: second-hand budget
Rewrite 2: single-flower budget
Rewrite 3: staples funds
Rewrite 4: hand-me-down reserves
Rewrite 5: do-it-yourself plan
Comment: This cliché is full of opportunity for rewrites and recasting, and in today's economy there is likely ample reason to, with so many stories of people cutting back on spending or trimming luxuries.
Check out the searchable alphabetical list of my cliché rewrites with my archived list.
Find me on Twitter: @a_copywriter
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Explore more about clichés
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Rewrite 1: second-hand budget
Rewrite 2: single-flower budget
Rewrite 3: staples funds
Rewrite 4: hand-me-down reserves
Rewrite 5: do-it-yourself plan
Comment: This cliché is full of opportunity for rewrites and recasting, and in today's economy there is likely ample reason to, with so many stories of people cutting back on spending or trimming luxuries.
Check out the searchable alphabetical list of my cliché rewrites with my archived list.
Find me on Twitter: @a_copywriter
...
Explore more about clichés
(commissions may be paid on purchases)
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Cliché: a real toad strangler
Meaning: overwhelmingly heavy rain or other overwhelming circumstance
Rewrite 1: a real guppy gusher
Rewrite 2: a real worm drowner
Rewrite 3: a real line snapper
Rewrite 4: a real bag burster
Comment: The idiom here suggests that the rain is so heavy it could overwhelm even an amphibian used to living in or near water. It could be used to suggest other things that might overwhelm something otherwise at home in that environment. So, a rewrite should fit in that sense. A recast could take an opposite tack or simply suggest a different kind of overwhelming circumstance.
Find me on Twitter: @a_copywriter
...
More reading on clichés
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Rewrite 1: a real guppy gusher
Rewrite 2: a real worm drowner
Rewrite 3: a real line snapper
Rewrite 4: a real bag burster
Comment: The idiom here suggests that the rain is so heavy it could overwhelm even an amphibian used to living in or near water. It could be used to suggest other things that might overwhelm something otherwise at home in that environment. So, a rewrite should fit in that sense. A recast could take an opposite tack or simply suggest a different kind of overwhelming circumstance.
Find me on Twitter: @a_copywriter
...
More reading on clichés
(commission may be paid on purchases)
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Cliché: quiet as a mouse
Meaning: nearly noiseless (example 1, example 2)
Rewrite 1: quiet as a worm
Rewrite 2: silent as a spider
Rewrite 3: calamitous as a cotton ball
Rewrite 4: noisy as drying paint
Comment: Sometimes said as "still as a mouse," so you could also use that as another variation. Also note that in the third and fourth rewrites that I took an opposite tack.
Find me on Twitter: @a_copywriter
. . .
Learn more about clichés
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Rewrite 1: quiet as a worm
Rewrite 2: silent as a spider
Rewrite 3: calamitous as a cotton ball
Rewrite 4: noisy as drying paint
Comment: Sometimes said as "still as a mouse," so you could also use that as another variation. Also note that in the third and fourth rewrites that I took an opposite tack.
Find me on Twitter: @a_copywriter
. . .
Learn more about clichés
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Monday, March 08, 2010
Cliché: pass the buck
Meaning: avoid responsibility by passing it along to another (example 1, example 2)
Rewrite 1: pass the deal
Rewrite 2: pass the trouble
Rewrite 3: hand off the dynamite
Rewrite 4: string you some worry beads
Comment: The key to recasting this cliché is recognizing its origins and playing around with its essence, then try to take it as far from the original as possible.
Find me on Twitter: @a_copywriter
Rewrite 1: pass the deal
Rewrite 2: pass the trouble
Rewrite 3: hand off the dynamite
Rewrite 4: string you some worry beads
Comment: The key to recasting this cliché is recognizing its origins and playing around with its essence, then try to take it as far from the original as possible.
Find me on Twitter: @a_copywriter
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Friday, March 05, 2010
Cliché: off the cuff
Meaning: impromptu response; quick response with little thought (example 1, example 2)
Comment: There are two senses of this idiom. One is of the quick response to something, the "off the cuff remark."
Rewrite 1: off the sunbeam
Rewrite 2: out of the clouds
Rewrite 3: brain spark
Another is the seeming impromptu response that is actually the result of more cunning thinking, the "off the cuff quote."
Rewrite 4: off the palm (notes in your palm)
Rewrite 5: off the ceiling (figuring in your head and looking at the ceiling while calculating)
Rewrite 6: one-eye count (a facial expression assumed while calculating)
The recast depends more on the sense you're using. How would you rewrite it?
Check out the searchable alphabetical list of my cliché rewrites with my archived list.
Find me on Twitter: @a_copywriter
Comment: There are two senses of this idiom. One is of the quick response to something, the "off the cuff remark."
Rewrite 1: off the sunbeam
Rewrite 2: out of the clouds
Rewrite 3: brain spark
Another is the seeming impromptu response that is actually the result of more cunning thinking, the "off the cuff quote."
Rewrite 4: off the palm (notes in your palm)
Rewrite 5: off the ceiling (figuring in your head and looking at the ceiling while calculating)
Rewrite 6: one-eye count (a facial expression assumed while calculating)
The recast depends more on the sense you're using. How would you rewrite it?
Check out the searchable alphabetical list of my cliché rewrites with my archived list.
Find me on Twitter: @a_copywriter
Thursday, March 04, 2010
Cliché: nerves of steel
Meaning: unwavering courage (example 1, example 2)
Rewrite 1: nerves of neutronium
Rewrite 2: titanium resolve
Rewrite 3: concrete courage
Rewrite 4: hard-wired will
Comments: Think unyielding metal or rocky resolve.
Check out the searchable alphabetical list of my cliché rewrites with my archived list.
Rewrite 1: nerves of neutronium
Rewrite 2: titanium resolve
Rewrite 3: concrete courage
Rewrite 4: hard-wired will
Comments: Think unyielding metal or rocky resolve.
Check out the searchable alphabetical list of my cliché rewrites with my archived list.
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