blamebrampton: 15th century woodcut of a hound (Default)
blamebrampton ([personal profile] blamebrampton) wrote2009-06-12 07:05 pm

Hey, Americans ...

Do you ever use forms of cliché other than plain old cliché? Such as clichéd or clichés? I see it used in a manner that I would consider wrong so often that I am wondering if it is one of those wacky idioms that English develops up all around the world. Or it could just be young people today with their emo music and Twittering ...

[identity profile] blamebrampton.livejournal.com 2009-06-12 04:36 pm (UTC)(link)
In English, clichéd is closest to hackneyed: a phrase that may or may not be true and accurate, but, regardless of its integral worth, has been so over-used as to be rendered meaningless and trite.

Phony is only useful for things that are in some way fake, alas, since it is often a very good synonym for the clichés that fall into that category.