“I get am before, nor be property” is a common adage in Pidgin English (a local lingo most common in Nigeria and its neighboring countries), which loosely translates to:
“That I owned/had it before, doesn’t mean it is a property I will continue to have” or
“That I owned it before does not mean, it’s worth keeping as a property”.
This, I think, is how to best describe clichés.
A cliché, as we may know, is a word or group of words that have been so worn and torn (overused), that using them might make your reader think “Oh! Here we go again!” Over time, the reader/audience perceives you as one who uses minimal effort to create, or as one who struggles with originality.
Take it or leave it!
Back in the day
Make or break
In the twinkle of an eye
Out of the box
This too shall pass
With the COVID-19 pandemic, I have read the words unprecedented times in several e-newsletters. The imagery of our current situation has actually begun to fade in my head because the brain ignores clichés.
Should we erase clichés? Not at all! Some of them like lovesick, a broken heart, butterflies in your stomach are medically true.
In fact, we can use them when reaching out to a specific audience by age, lifestyle or culture. “Back in the day” works when engaging with older people. “Out of the box” applies when you have created the mental or physical imagery of what lies within specific boundaries or limits. Pregnant mothers can be advised on how to “eat for two”. A “French kiss” may mean nothing much to a new reader who lives outside of this cultural setting.
Use clichés moderately. First, stick with it only when it is suited for the people and context that you want to communicate to. Second, seek out their synonyms using a dictionary or thesaurus. This means that “uncertain times” can be interchanged with “unprecedented times”, “limitless” can be used in place of “out of the box”. You may make it even longer, honouring the user’s imagination: “In the days of Martin Luther King” “Few months before the Biafran War” in place of “back in the day” or “In these complex shifting times”, “Now that all we have is hope” in place of “unprecedented times”
Think of other clichés and share in the comments how you would use them differently.
Did you learn something new? Please share this newsletter with someone in your network. Also, use the hashtag #HealthLitNotes to engage on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Have a fruitful week,
Chidindu Mmadu-Okoli
Health Literacy Notepad