clichés vs. concrete words

Clichés are not as good as concrete words because clichés leave out information. Clichés do not refer to concrete reality and do not state exactly what the speaker is thinking, they only make the speaker sound normal and boring and unintelligent, or maybe to people who are impressed by clichés cool and interesting and smart. My friends mostly go to parties and do drugs and stuff, so when one of them says ‘SOFT AS A BABY’S BUTT,’ I punch them in the face and tell them to say instead ‘VERY SOFT’ unless they are a mom or a dad, in which case I nod my head and walk backwards slowly with a scared expression on my face that is meant to show alienation, estrangement, and that I do not accept them any more. Some clichés don’t make sense at all, like ‘THE CREAM OF THE CROP.’ I think that cream does not come from any crop, it comes from cows, unless you are talking about a soybean crop, which you can make ’soy milk’ out of, but even ’soy milk’ is a kind of cliché, because it’s not really milk, it’s just juice that people substitute for milk and kind of looks like milk. Two other clichés are ‘CUT TO THE CHASE’ and ‘FOLLOW MY LEAD.’

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Brandon Scott Gorrell lives and works in Seattle. All of his fiction is either on or linked to in his blog which you can access by clicking on these words. Please read more of Brandon Scott Gorrell and leave comments on his blog, that would be awesome. Brandon Scott Gorrell is 23.

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First published in 3:AM Magazine: Wednesday, June 20th, 2007.