Nearby Words

cliche

[klee-shey, kli-] Origin

cli·ché

[klee-shey, kli-]
noun
1.
a trite, stereotyped expression; a sentence or phrase, usually expressing a popular or common thought or idea, that has lost originality, ingenuity, and impact by long overuse, as sadder but wiser, or strong as an ox.
2.
(in art, literature, drama, etc.) a trite or hackneyed plot, character development, use of color, musical expression, etc.
3.
anything that has become trite or commonplace through overuse.
4.
British Printing.
a.
a stereotype or electrotype plate.
b.
a reproduction made in a like manner.
adjective
5.
trite; hackneyed; stereotyped; clichéd.

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Cliche is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
Also, cli·che.


Origin:
1825–35; < French: stereotype plate, stencil, cliché, noun use of past participle of clicher to make such a plate, said to be imitative of the sound of the metal pressed against the matrix


1. platitude, bromide, stereotype, commonplace.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

cliche
1832, borrowing of a technical word from Fr. cliché, printer's jargon for "stereotype," supposedly echoic of mould dropping into molten metal, thus pp. of clicher "to click." Figurative extension is first attested 1888, following the course of stereotype. Related: Cliched (1928).
EXPAND

cliché
see cliche.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

cliché definition


A much used expression that has lost its freshness and descriptive power. Some clichés are “I thank you from the bottom of my heart” and “It's only a drop in the bucket.”

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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