Familiarity and Contempt on the Street of Shame
For the last few years, Private Eye has run a feature called The Neophiliacs, listing uses and variations of the cliché "X is the new black" in the previous fortnight's media. The phrase is hackneyed beyond belief but still remains an essential tool in the lazy writer's arsenal.
Other newspaper watchers have noted a wider range of cliches, each of which have their own particular lifespan. A demonstration of this can be carried out through the pages of Google news. Specifically, the search box. Results will change every day, so let us examine a few contemporary examples and offer the number of occurances of these cliché as of right now.
Raft of measures (96 results)
"Her Majesty unveiled a raft of measures aimed fighting terror, crime, anti-social behaviour and identity fraud" – politics.co.uk
"Only transparent information and products will create a truly competitive market. Which? is calling for a raft of measures…" – guardian.co.uk
"…the whisky industry has followed suit with a raft of measures." – The Scotsman
The new black (142 results)
"Orange – it's the new black" – Longview Daily News
"When it comes to PPP, green's the new black" – The Scotsman
"Bottled Water – the new black" – Jamaica Observer
"First it was gold, that was closely followed by platinum, then black, and now purple which, as everyone knows, is the new black." – The Scotsman
Bouncebackability (62 results)
"I have belief, I believe in Bouncebackability" – The Holmesdale Online
"You can put your shirt on bouncebackability" – Croydon Guardian
"It's not our word Nicholas – 'bouncebackability' is the campaign of the people to improve and develop the English language. I went to see a Shakespeare play on Saturday and I tell you, language needs to develop because that was rubbish!" – Tim Lovejoy, The Sun
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For those interested in the overuse of clichés in modern journalism, give this article a read. It lists the seventeen worst clichés, including "the rest is history" (317 results on Google News), "the holy grail" (734 results) and "welcome to the world of…" (99 results).
A writer who resorts repeatedly to clichés should have the image of a dunce cap burned onto their foreheads with a branding iron. They are supposed to be putting something new into the world through their words, and must realise that the use of clichés is one of the many sentinels keeping watch on the thin line between the Writer and the Hack. This applies even when used with self-awareness…in the same way that a politician declaring an interest before speaking doesn't absolve him.
But I don't want to keep blowing this smoke around. To attack bad writing in writing is a dangerous sport and I am too scared of being charged with hypocrisy.
Ah, what the hell. These people need to be told.
Other newspaper watchers have noted a wider range of cliches, each of which have their own particular lifespan. A demonstration of this can be carried out through the pages of Google news. Specifically, the search box. Results will change every day, so let us examine a few contemporary examples and offer the number of occurances of these cliché as of right now.
Raft of measures (96 results)
"Her Majesty unveiled a raft of measures aimed fighting terror, crime, anti-social behaviour and identity fraud" – politics.co.uk
"Only transparent information and products will create a truly competitive market. Which? is calling for a raft of measures…" – guardian.co.uk
"…the whisky industry has followed suit with a raft of measures." – The Scotsman
The new black (142 results)
"Orange – it's the new black" – Longview Daily News
"When it comes to PPP, green's the new black" – The Scotsman
"Bottled Water – the new black" – Jamaica Observer
"First it was gold, that was closely followed by platinum, then black, and now purple which, as everyone knows, is the new black." – The Scotsman
Bouncebackability (62 results)
"I have belief, I believe in Bouncebackability" – The Holmesdale Online
"You can put your shirt on bouncebackability" – Croydon Guardian
"It's not our word Nicholas – 'bouncebackability' is the campaign of the people to improve and develop the English language. I went to see a Shakespeare play on Saturday and I tell you, language needs to develop because that was rubbish!" – Tim Lovejoy, The Sun
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For those interested in the overuse of clichés in modern journalism, give this article a read. It lists the seventeen worst clichés, including "the rest is history" (317 results on Google News), "the holy grail" (734 results) and "welcome to the world of…" (99 results).
A writer who resorts repeatedly to clichés should have the image of a dunce cap burned onto their foreheads with a branding iron. They are supposed to be putting something new into the world through their words, and must realise that the use of clichés is one of the many sentinels keeping watch on the thin line between the Writer and the Hack. This applies even when used with self-awareness…in the same way that a politician declaring an interest before speaking doesn't absolve him.
But I don't want to keep blowing this smoke around. To attack bad writing in writing is a dangerous sport and I am too scared of being charged with hypocrisy.
Ah, what the hell. These people need to be told.
posted by Jamie at 11:46 AM
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