Every one knows that in business and general conversation clichés should be avoided like the plague. However, as this Institution is literally almost unique in being user-focused and empowered to share the big picture, we have, by popular demand and in order to keep up with the Joneses, established Cliché Corner as a sub-section of our Spotty Ribbon Campaign.
The primary function of this section is to record those hackneyed, well-worn words and phrases that get right up one's nose when they are trotted out willy-nilly.
The list is quite small at this moment in time, but once we get up to speed we may turn into an interactive database like that which contains our isms collection. If you wish to share your thoughts and add to Cliché Corner then please contact us at our usual e-mail address; we'll run your suggestion up the flagpole and see who salutes. Hey, but don't just send us a cliché, tell us why it annoys you. We're hoping to list more clichés than you can shake a stick at. Any more suggestions? email the ISMS
Here are a few we’ve heard, or been sent, to get the ball rolling.......
| Cliché | Contributor's comments | Contributor |
| credit crunch | Never really used until Spring 2008 and now every financial reference in the media must contain the words credit crunch! | II |
| that's given you time to recharge your batteries | I always feel extremely patronised by this comment. | SLR-R |
| Let's remind ourselves.... | Cheesy and over-used link into repeating something; often an old item of news or as a blatant repetition of previous work by a college lecturer | SJR |
| Heads up | Many business people no longer tell colleagues about something; they now give them a head's up! Head's up their own backside methinks? | JRP |
| Going forward | Currently favoured by senior Audit Commission staff. Every presentation or discussion on planning has to include numerous mentions of 'going forward'. | JRP |
| Risk radar | As in “was that on our risk radar”. Why no just say, did we know about that! | JRP |
| Workforce planning | In our organisation that just means redundancy planning! | JRP |
| The resources that work for you | Please call them people! | RM |
| So I turned around and said..... | Bet you didn't turn around! | JRP |
| Free gift | As opposed to a gift you pay for? | JRP |
| The vast majority | Must every majority be vast? | JRP |
| Clearly, ..... | Clearly, this is being overused and clearly, I'm just fed up with this one! Clear? | JRP |
| Captions under newspaper photographs where 'Mr X and Mr Y can be seen sharing a joke...." | Usually they're caught doing nothing more than standing close to each other having a drink and a sandwich. | JRP |
| Safe haven | A safe place of safety? | JRP |
| Utilisation Instead us use. | Mostly in relation to operating theatres | JRP |
| Soccer: "... there's no score yet!" | Yes there is, it's nil-nil | ME |
| Let's make sure we're all singing from the same hymn sheet | Oh, go away! | ME |
| Go the extra mile | If, every day, I went the extra mile, by Friday I'd be miles away from home | SLR-R |
| He speaks 5 different languages | In case you think he speaks 5 languages but they're all the same? | JR |
| Rushed to hospital | Do paramedics sometimes take a leisurely drive? | IV |
| Giving 110% | Stop it. Mathematically, it's not possible and you're making the rest of us look bad! | GW |
| Thinking outside the box | Until someone thinks outside the box and comes up with a replacement for thinking outside the box we're boxed in with this cliché. | JRP |
| It strikes me ...... | Sometimes I just wish someone would strike them. Hard! | JRP |
| Oh my God! | Standard, meaningless exclamation for 90% of the UK population - offensive to the other 10%. What does it really mean? Most often heard at the 'reveal' stage of every tatty home makeover programme on TV. | JRP |
| Send no money now! | How can I send no money? | JD |
| I'm going into solution mode! | Eh? Is that from a Red Dwarf script or is he changing into a puddle of water? | RP |
| I'm not up to speed | I just hate it, is that enough to get it on the page? | ME |
| Let's get back to the drawing board | Old hat, mate! We're all using CAD these days. | RR |
| At the end of the day | Thinking of phrases that only debaters use, surely, at the end of the day, this is the most over-used? (see also ism #845) | DP |
| 24/7 | 24/7 was always a cliché that I hated but recently, it had to happen eventually, I heard 24/7/365. Is there no end? | JRP |
| At the end of the day the bottom line is... | A real double whammy! | SLR-R |
| I feel your pain | This usually comes from the person who is the source of one’s “pain” and what they are actually implying is “I don’t care about your problems, just shut up and do what I asked.” | DR |
| At the minute | Isn't it supposed to be "at the moment". It really grates on my nerves. | WES |
| So _____ | Everything these days is so cool, so amazing, so gross, so like Friends. So what! (see also Totally) | JRP |
| Totally ______ | Everything these days is totally cool, totally amazing, totally gross, totally like Friends. Totally pathetic! (see also So) | JRP |
| Voice mail | Whatever happened to the answer phone? | DW |
| I'm on my mobile | A child's toy hung above a cot? [we've always wondered why a portable computer is never referred to as a mobile computer - Ed.] | DW |
| Best practice | It seems to be commonly thrown into phrases like “Industry best practice in this area is …” or “Best practice guidelines dictate that …”. Surely this should be “good industrial practice”, or even “the best practice”, but never “best practice” by itself. | KB |
| I'll take that on board! | Ahoy, there and weigh anchor? | JRP |
| I wanted to touch base with you. | Not on a first date you don't! And what are these people wanting to touch? | MY |
| Let's do lunch. | What are we going to "do to it?" | MY |
| Funner | Speaks for itself. Television personalities are using this non-word! Well, being on the television--say no more. | MY |
| Soccer: "We're hoping for a result today!" | OK, just don't turn up and you'll get one: 0-0 (result!) and the other team will win (result!) | H-L |
| Major breakthrough | Police, scientist and so on no longer just make progress | PI |
| Nothing works better! | So use nothing; it’ll be cheaper | JV |
This is our current world record sentence for Clichés. Have you heard a better one? |
Well, at the end of the day we should see some light at the end of the tunnel, but if Mr X is not up to speed than that's his lookout and we can't be bending over backwards 24/7 to help him! Heard in my office today (18/8/05) from a colleague on the phone. Is this a record for the longest set of Clichés in a sentence? JRP |
