... a famous author whose name totally escapes me this morning. But it's about cliches in writing. Now, I know that I tend to hone in on the things I'm working on ... a lot of Mary's comments for both Ali and me (and I'm sure for Fleur who couldn't be there) were about cliches. They can be a very lazy way to write. And I don't think any of us want to be lazy writers. If we did, we wouldn't be subjecting ...

"Avoid cliches" - that's what would-be writers are always being warned. But in comedy writing, CLICHES offer a rich source of humor. In fact many cliches can be easily and directly used as cartoon captions. As you know a cliche is an overused expression that has lost its freshness and becomes ...

... in the general direction of Mr. Pee Man's face, but still...what the hell?Anyway, Craig and I discuss this and other movie cliches in our latest podcast, annoying movie cliches and whatnot. It's less than four minutes long, and it's mostly safe for work. Sounds interesting, right? Give it a listen or I will blow up your house with dynamite and similar ...

David Brooks today weaves together a marvelous tapestry of political cliches in his Gray Lady opinion piece. It's worth a read for a nice chuckle.What's funniest is that the Times's sophisticated readership seems deaf to the reality that he is lampooning not Obama so much as current political speechmaking.We figure he'll do something similar after the RNC, much to the disappointment of the ...

... by 4.5 games in that race. The Phadins host the Brew Crew next week for four games and you can be sure if the home team doesn't have much incentive to get up for that series the Brewers sure do. Before that series gets underway, however, the Phadins face the Mets in New York this weekend for three games. By Sunday night we should know a lot more about what cliches we can expect to hear next.

Thanks to everyone who contributed! Special props to Amy Martinez Starke, who rounded up an impressive 112 cliches, some of them particular to the Pacific Northwest though none involving any vice-presidential nominees from Alaska.Here's an edited list of everyone's worst offenders:Died doing what s/he lovedAn avid (noun)Never met a strangerA Renaissance (wo)manNow sitting next to (golfing with/ ...