cliché: apple of my eye, the

Meaning: The focus of my eye; someone or something cherished above others.

Example: Of all the young ladies at the dance, I couldn't take my eye off of her. She was the apple of my eye.

Origins: AD 885 from an Old English work attributed to King Aelfred the Great and The Bible: Deuteronomy 32:10 and Zechoriah 2:8. More lately by Shakespeare and Sir Walter Scott.

(Definition and origins.)

Rewrites:

• The red delicious of my eye
• The apple of my joy
• The fruit of my appreciation
• The joy of my focus

Discussion: In the first rewrite, use the species of apple of your choice, any would probably work, although the more notable the variety the better the metaphor works.

cliché: any port in a storm

Meaning: help accepted from any source (definition).

Example: Another night with the in-laws beats an overnight at the airport - any port in a storm! (Examples.)

Origins: Sea travel when any port, even those normally not sought out, would offer safety from storms or battles. (Source.)

Rewrites:

• any harbor in a gale
• any shelter in a blizzard
• any inside when the outside gets wild
• anywhere the weather can’t get to me

Discussion: Although I kept these rewrites to weather, there are plenty of opportunities to recast for other  situations when safety is sought. How might you rewrite for them? 

cliché: always a bridesmaid, never a bride

Meaning: Never the most important person in a group (source); never fulfill ambitions (source).

Origins: 1924 Listerine ad (source). 

Example: I finally make president of the firm and they bring in a CEO - as usual, always a bridesmaid, never a bride.

Rewrites:

• always a groomsman, never a groom
• always a stable pony, never a thoroughbred
• always an assistant, never a department head
• always a supporting actor,  never a leading role
• always a seat warmer, never a celeb
• always a caterpillar, never a butterfly
• always a raindrop, never a snowflake
• always a nominee, never one who accepts the statue
• always a rivet, never a Bedazzler

Discussion: This ad tagline is rife with opportunities for rewrites and recasts. I would love to see what you can come up with. 

cliché: Achilles’ heel

Meaning: vulnerability (definition and example).

Example: His lack of attention to detail was his Achilles’ heel.

Origins: Greek mythology. First cited in literature by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1810. (Source.)

Rewrites:

• Achilles’ weak spot
• Thor's mind
• Samson’s locks
• Kal-El’s kryptonite
• Spiderman’s Mary Jane
• Death Star’s thermal exhaust port

Discussion: Some of these you have to know the story to get the vulnerability and so they may not work as instantaneously as the original. Others may break through right away, depending on your audience.

cliché: all that glitters is not gold

Meaning: A proverb: All that appears expensive and genuine isn't so.

Example: That minted coin looks like a good deal, but all that glitters is not gold.

Origins: In various forms dates before the 12^th century, perhaps even before Aesop, but in modern usage dates back to Shakespeare’s The Merchants of Venice.

Meaning, origins, and example. More examples.

Rewrites:

• all that sparkles is not diamonds
• all that shines is not silver
• gold and brass glitter alike
• much glitter is as good as the gutter
• fool's gold fools many fools

Discussion: I tried to stay true to the precious metals and gems roots of the saying, but can you imagine a recasting of this proverb in terms of flashy brands and gadgets?

cliché: all ears

Meaning: eagerly listening (definition).

Examples: Speak up, I'm all ears. (Some examples.)

Origins: Literal sense of the ears as instruments of hearing and eagerness to listen (source).

Rewrites:

• listening with both ears
• eardrums are piqued
• ears are tuned
• that hush is for you
• you can’t speak too low for me!

Discussion: Originally, I went much wider in rewriting these but found I was taking the idiom beyond its original meaning. There is plenty of opportunity to rewrite using ears or hearing or speaking as extended metaphors and staying true to the heart of its idea.

cliché: after my own heart

Meaning: Someone who thinks as I do (definition).

Example: Comparing favorite movies, I found she was a woman after my own heart. (Example in song lyrics.)

Origins: The Bible, Samuel 13:14 and Acts 13:22 (source).

Rewrites:

• shares my heartbeat
• whose pulse beats with mine
• has similar vibes
• is tuned into my wavelength

Discussion: It's someone who shares your heart, your sympathies, your beat, your senses... these are just the beginning of ways you can redefine what is a lovely but limited expression of oneness with another person.

I'm changing the format trying to share more research and help you do more with the sentiment behind the idiom. Let me know what you think about the changes.

cliché: last hurrah

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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Check out "When is a Cliché Not a Cliché" on Blame it on the Muse (blog)