Reporters do it. Editors do it. Even Pulitzer Prize winners do it. We all do it. We all use cliches.
In casual speech, few notice. In writing, however, including daily newspaper journalism, cliches are overly handy, unimaginative crutches. The familiar words come to mind, and we transfer them to the page almost subconsciously.
“A storm of protest greeted the mayor in the wake of the business license fee increases.”
That sort of thing.
While such commonly used metaphors — “a storm” and “the wake of a boat,” in this case — cause little harm, they have dulled with decades of use.
The phrase “begs the question” recently brought on thoughts about cliches. Coming across the wording in The Oregonian, I checked for more examples and easily found them.
The problem is twofold in that most uses of the cliched phrase are a distortion of its initial meaning.
In writing or logic classes many of us learned — and put aside — that “to beg the question” is a logical fallacy that refers to circular reasoning. It is an argument that assumes as a truth the point the speaker is arguing for.
To borrow an example from Paul Brians, an English professor at Washington State University, on a WSU Web site: “This painting is trash because it is obviously worthless.”
Brians adds that people rarely use “begs” in relation to logical argument. We do, however, use it to say that something “raises the question.”
In fact, The Oregonian’s electronic library lists 210 citations since 1987. Most that I checked were in quotations, but not all. One reporter wrote, “Which begs the question: Can a retiree who started teaching decades ago relate to the struggles of a beginner in 2002?”
Other instances related to pro basketball, movies and architecture.
Current culture, and national and international events, regularly contribute to our storehouse of cliches. After Sept. 11, we talked about “connecting the dots.” The reference to serious matters took on a separate life in other contexts.
Jill Rosen, assistant managing editor of American Journalism Review, found 600 such references in print since April. (The Oregonian has published the phrase 27 times this year.) One connected the dots “between ‘Star Wars’ and God.”
Presidents are prime contributors to our collective search for the familiar phrase. Bill Clinton gave us “I feel your pain.” About the time we were numb to that one, we had a new administration making inroads with its phrasing. We can blame linguistic evildoers.
The press also turns to old favorites. I used one in this column last week: “our own worst enemies.” Rosen reported in June that she had found more than 280 “own worst enemy” references this year.
Let’s not forget “poster child,” which must be middle-aged and graying. Or “poster boy.” Or “girl.” More than 50 “poster somethings” have popped up this year in The Oregonian.
“Cash-strapped” has appeared 240 times since January 2001. “Strapped” has meant “in need” or “wanting” for more than 200 years. It is a perfectly good word. But “cash-strapped” an average of 11.4 times a month more than covers the need.
Others old hands include “heated debate,” a popular one during an election year, and “the good news is . . . the bad news is . . . ” The “news” phrase has appeared about 25 times a year since 1987. The words often appear in quotations, but writers rely upon them, too.
Cliches will always be with us. When all of the right elements come together, a new phrase catches on. Call it a sort of perfect storm.
Hmmm. That phrase has appeared 26 times this year, some of them in reference to the book and movie, “The Perfect Storm.” Others referred to crises in energy, finance and human development. Yet another cliche for writers and editors to watch for.
