Day 24

Today we’re talking about do’s and don’ts.

We’re not supposed to use cliches.

Well, long ago someone told me that, but I don’t think the message stuck because every now and then a cliche will appear.

Of course, the reason we don’t use them is that people generally will not know what they mean, and I dread to think what the translators must do when translating English to another language.

I mean, who doesn’t know what a wild goose chase is?

For those who don’t: “a foolish and hopeless search for or pursuit of something unattainable”.

Some might use it to describe their efforts to be published. I know, at times, that almost became my mantra until I discovered self-publishing.

Where it came from: In 1593, when discussing horsemanship, ‘a type of 16th-century horse race where everyone had to try to follow the erratic course of the lead horse like wild geese have to follow their leader in formation’.

I would have liked to have been there to see it.

By and large, they should not be used, and I only use them because they fit the character who is using them.

And, just the other day I was writing a short story which, it turns out, uses a number of metaphors or cliches for dramatic effect, and which are also explained