Cliché

A cliché (Template:IPAc-en or Template:IPAc-en; Template:IPA) is a saying, idea, or element of an artistic work that has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning, novelty, or figurative or artistic power, even to the point of now being bland or uninteresting.<ref>Gary Blake and Robert W. Bly, The Elements of Technical Writing, pg. 85. New York: Macmillan Publishers, 1993. Template:ISBN</ref> In phraseology, the term has taken on a more technical meaning, referring to an expression imposed by conventionalized linguistic usage.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The term, which is typically pejorative,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is often used in modern culture for an action or idea that is expected or predictable, based on a prior event. Clichés may or may not be true.<ref>Short Story Library Thick skin and writing, cliché, but true Template:Webarchive - Published By Casey Quinn • May 10th, 2009 • Category: Casey's Corner</ref> Some are stereotypes, but some are simply truisms and facts.<ref>The Free Dictionary - Cliche</ref> Clichés often are employed for comedic effect, typically in fiction.

Most phrases now considered clichéd originally were regarded as striking but have lost their force through overuse.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The French poet Gérard de Nerval once said, "The first man who compared woman to a rose was a poet, the second, an imbecile."<ref>Quotations of Gérard de Nerval</ref>

A cliché is often a vivid depiction of an abstraction that relies upon analogy or exaggeration for effect, often drawn from everyday experience.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Used sparingly, it may succeed, but the use of a cliché in writing, speech, or argument is generally considered a mark of inexperience or a lack of originality. However, some scholars of film have noted that some clichés - such as stock characters - can be employed creatively, either by generating expectations within the narrative or by producing pleasure through the simple thrill of recognition.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

Etymology

The word cliché is borrowed from French, where it is a past passive participle of clicher, 'to click', used as a noun; cliché is attested from 1825 and originated in the printing trades.<ref name="etymonline.com">Template:Cite web</ref> The term cliché was adopted as printers' jargon to refer to a stereotype, electrotype, cast plate or block print that could reproduce type or images repeatedly.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="etymonline.com"/> It has been suggested that the word originated from the clicking sound in "dabbed" printing (a particular form of stereotyping in which the block was impressed into a bath of molten type-metal to form a matrix). Through this onomatopoeia, cliché came to mean a ready-made, oft-repeated phrase.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Usage

Using a feature such as an overhanging branch to frame a nature scene<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> may be described as a visual cliché.

Various dictionaries recognize a derived adjective clichéd, with the same meaning.<ref name=AHD>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=MW>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=RHUD>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=NSOED/> Cliché is sometimes used as an adjective,<ref name=MW/><ref name=RHUD/> although some dictionaries do not recognize it as such,<ref name=AHD/><ref name=NSOED>Template:Cite book</ref> listing the word only as a noun and clichéd as the adjective.

Thought-terminating cliché

Thought-terminating clichés, also known as thought-stoppers,<ref name=Chiras/> or semantic stopsigns,<ref name="Yudkowsky">Template:Cite web</ref> are words or phrases that discourage critical thought and meaningful discussion about a given topic.<ref name="Taylor2006">Template:Cite book</ref> They are typically short, generic truisms that offer seemingly simple answers to complex questions or that distract attention away from other lines of thought.<ref name="Taylor2006"/> They are often sayings that have been embedded in a culture's folk wisdom and are tempting to say because they sound true or good or like the right thing to say.<ref name=Chiras/> Some examples are: "Stop thinking so much",<ref>Template:Citation</ref> "here we go again",<ref>Template:Citation</ref> and "so what, what effect do my [individual] actions have?"<ref name=Chiras>Template:Citation</ref>

The term was popularized by psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton in his 1961 book, Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: A Study of "Brainwashing" in China.<ref name="Taylor2006"/> Lifton wrote, "The language of the totalist environment is characterized by the thought-terminating cliché. The most far-reaching and complex of human problems are compressed into brief, highly reductive, definitive-sounding phrases, easily memorized and easily expressed. These become the start and finish of any ideological analysis".<ref name="cliche">Template:Cite book</ref> Sometimes they are used in a deliberate attempt to shut down debate, manipulate others to think a certain way, or dismiss dissent. However, some people repeat them, even to themselves, out of habit or conditioning, or as a defense mechanism to reaffirm a confirmation bias.<ref name=Chiras/><ref name=Peterson>Template:Citation</ref>

See also

• Archetype
• Aphorism
• Bromide (language)
• Catchphrase
• Figure of speech
• Idiom
• I'm entitled to my opinion
• Irreversible binomial
• Kitsch
• List of English idioms on Wiktionary
• Meme
• Platitude
• Pun
• Shitposting
• Slogan
• Snowclone
• Speech
• Stock character
• Thoughts and prayers
• Category:Tropes

Further reading

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