List of Cliches Writers Should Avoid
- A rose by any other name would smell as sweet
- Abandon ship
- About face
- Above board
- Absence makes the heart grow fonder
- Absolute power corrupts absolutely
- Add insult to injury
- Ace in the hole
- Achilles heel
- Acid test
- Actions speak louder than words
- After my own heart
- Against the grain
- Ah, to be young and foolish
- Airing dirty laundry
- Al fresco
- All bets are off
- All dressed up and nowhere to go
- All ears
- All for one, and one for all
- All hands on deck
- All hands to the pump
- All heck (hell) breaks loose
- All in a day’s work
- All in due time
- All over the map
- All talk and no action
- All that glitters is not gold
- All that jazz
- All the bits and pieces
- All the flowers of tomorrow are in the seeds of yesterday.
- All things grow with love
- All thumbs
- All wet
- All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy
- All’s fair in love and war
- All’s well that ends well
- Already got one paw on the chicken coop
- Altitude is determined by attitude
- Always a bridesmaid, never the bride
- Always look on the bright side
- Am I my brother’s keeper?
- American as apple pie.
- Am I talking to a brick wall
- An angel belongs in the garden
- An apple a day keeps the doctor away
- An apple never falls far from the tree
- An arm and a leg
- An axe to grind
- An idle mind is the devil’s playground
- An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
- Another day another dollar
- Another nail in the coffin
- Ants in his pants
- Any friend of yours is a friend of mine
- Any port in a storm
- Anyhoo
- Anything goes
- Apple of his eye
- Are you a man or a mouse?
- Armed to the teeth
- Around the horn
- As all get out
- As beautiful as the day is long
- As clear as mud
- As cold as ice
- As common as dirt
- As delicate as a flower
- As dense as aLondonfog
- As far as the eye can see
- As fresh as a daisy
- As good as gold
- As hot as hell
- As honest as the day is long
- As if
- As luck would have it
- As much use as a yard of pump water
- As plain as the nose on your face
- As poor as dirt
- As pure as snow
- As sensitive as a flower
- As slow as molasses
- As snug as a bug in a rug
- As solid as the ground we stand on
- As tender as a mother’s heart
- As the crow flies
- As useful as tits on a bull
- As welcome as a skunk at a lawn party
- As white as snow
- As ye sow, so shall ye reap
- Ashes to ashes dust to dust
- Ask me no questions and I’ll tell you no lies
- Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country
- Asleep at the wheel
- Ass backwards
- At the bottom of the pecking order
- At the crack of dawn
- At the drop of a hat
- At the eleventh hour
- At the end of my rope
- At the end of the day
- At the last minute
- At wits’ end
- Atta boy
- Atta girl
- Babe in the woods
- Beat around the bush
- Beat it into the ground
- Beauty is a fading flower
- Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
- Bee in her bonnet
- Being led down the garden path
- Bent out of shape
- Best thing since sliced bread
- Better late than never
- Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick
- Betting the farm
- Between a rock and a hard place
- Big as life
- A bird in the hand is messy
- A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
- Bite the dust
- Bit off more than you can chew
- Bless my bloomers
- Blood is thicker than water
- Bloom where you are planted
- Blow hot and cold
- Bone of contention
- Bottomless pit
- Bowels of the earth
- Bread and water
- Bread and wine
- Break new ground
- Bring on the sun
- Bright as a full moon
- Broad daylight
- Brought back to reality
- Brought down to earth
- Busy as a bee
- Buy the farm
- Caked with mud
- Can’t tell his ass from a hole in the ground
- Can’t tell his ass from his elbow
- Can’t see the forest for the trees
- Can’t see the wood for the trees
- Carrot on a stick
- Cat’s meow
- Caught between a rock and a hard place
- Charm the birds out of trees
- Chestnuts roasting on an open fire
- Chip off the old block
- Chip on his shoulder
- Closing the barn door after the horse escapes
- Cold feet
- Cold hands warm heart
- Come down to earth
- Come hell or high water
- Common garden variety
- Common ground
- Comparing apples to oranges
- Cool as a cucumber
- Cover a lot of ground
- Cream of the crop
- Crows are black everywhere
- Crushing blow
- Crying buckets
- Cultivate the garden within
- Cut and dried
- Cut the ground out from under him
- Dead of winter
- Dig in
- Dig it
- Dig up dirt on him
- Dig yourself into a hole
- Digging a hole for yourself
- Dishing the dirt
- Dirt cheap
- Dirt poor, filthy rich
- Do I look like a turnip that just fell off the turnip truck?
- Don’t bite the hand that feeds you
- Don’t count your chickens before they hatch
- Don’t have a cow
- Don’t let grass grow under your feet
- Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth
- Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill
- Don’t make waves
- Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
- Don’t put the cart before the horse
- Don’t that just butter your grits.
- Don’t upset the apple cart.
- Don’t use a lot where a little will do
- Down to earth
- Drier than a burnt bush
- Drive it into the ground
- A drop in the bucket
- Dropped like a hot potato
- Dry as a bone
- Dumb as a stump
- Dumber than a bucket of rocks
- Earth shattering
- Easier said than done
- Easy as falling off a log
- Eat dirt
- East my dust
- Every cloud has a silver lining
- Every dog has his day
- Every rose has its thorn
- Every stick has two ends
- Everything’s coming up roses
- Face the music
- Fall on stony ground
- Fat as a hog
- Fat as a cow
- A feast for sore eyes
- Feeling swamped
- Feet of clay
- Fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down
- Fertile ground
- Fix his/her wagon
- Flat as a pancake
- A flood of tears
- Flower child
- Flower of youth.
- For everything there is a season.
- For the birds
- For want of a nail the shoe was lost
- Fountain of energy
- Free as a bird
- Fresh as a daisy
- From dawn to dusk
- From feast to famine
- From small beginnings come great things
- From the ends of the earth
- From the four corners of the earth
- From the ground up
- Full of piss and vinegar
- Full of vinegar
- Funny farm
- Gain ground
- Gentle as a lamb
- Get hold of the wrong end of the stick
- Get your feet on the ground
- Get your feet wet
- Give a little, take a little
- Give and take
- Give ground
- Go climb a tree
- God’s green earth
- Go with the flow
- Green with envy
- Hard as a rock
- Kiss and makeup
- Like a lead balloon
- Looking like a lost dog in a meat house
- Lost Cause
- Moving experience
- Needle in a haystack
- Oldie but a goodie
- On the ball
- On the fence
- Paled in comparison
- Ripe old age
- Shoulder the burden
- Sink or you swim
- Stand in awe
- Strong as an ox
- The Acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree
- The whole enchilada
- Untimely death
- Vote with your feet
- Wise as an owl