What’s your favorite cliché?

Clichés are more common than a ten-dollar whore so I try not to use them. I try not to beat around the bush and go straight for the jugular when I write, but old habits die hard. Using clichés in speech is as unavoidable as death and taxes. Most of the time, the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing and we use them as freely as a bird. Usually, it’s only after the horse has already left the gate that we kick ourselves in the seat of the pants and realize what we said. By then, the cat is already out of the bag, but it’s no use crying over spilled milk. You need to break a few eggs to make an omelet.

My grandmother, who is now pushing up daisies, subconsciously gave me her whole cliché kit and kaboodle like a fish needs a bicycle. Monkey see, monkey do. Clichés worm their way into my vocabulary time and time again. I stop myself in my tracks and give pause for making an ass out of myself once more. Sometimes, I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel to find a phrase that isn’t a cliché.

When I find myself using clichés, I keep my chin up and let sleeping dogs lie. I turn that frown upside-down. It’s not as bad as a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. Just remember, the devil’s in the details. It goes without saying that it’s always darkest before the dawn. When push comes to shove, it’s better to have tried and lost than to not have tried at all. If at first you don’t succeed, try try again. It’s best to forgive and forget. You’ll live to fight another day.