Cliché Debunker Gifts

Countervailing Clichés.

"Bert, I'm confused. What happens after we circle the wagons, tighten our belts and walk a mile in our customer's shoes? Is that when the chickens come home to roost?"

"The cat told me to eat your homework."

'Let's start out with cliches and pithy slogans - and work our way up to wisdom ...OK?'

"Repeat after me: We are delivering the proactive core value promises and rolling out our real time best practice action plan going forward ..."

'Congratulations! It's a bouncing baby boy!'

The Devil's in the detail!

'It was a dark and stormy night. Also, there was a Catch-22.'

'Here's the good news. 'Happy camper' and 'are we having fun yet' have been added to the official list of banned cliches.'

"No, I don't believe youth is wasted on the young. I believe money is."

Steve found himself on his travels.

Good stripper cop / Bad stripper cop

Mystery Writing 101 - Mailbox: The butler did it, the gardener, the chauffeur.

"Hello darling, what do you do for a living?"

'It's negative attention ... as long as you keep asking why, they'll keep on doing it.'

'Lookout, here comes another boatload of cartoonists.'

'This doesn't work as a heart-felt plea for world peace, but with some astute editing, it might be great on a greeting card.'

"Thanks for your introductory speech at the conference. By the way, Hibblemeyer, it's 'hard-headed' businessman, not 'thick-headed'."

"Milton Woolburg, founder of traditions, legends, and general flimlam."

Leopards do change their spots

'Too many cliches? Now hold your horses!'

'Reserved' (presumably for little miss muffet)

"There are far too many balls in your court, Brintner!"

"There is such a thing as a free lunch-it just tastes bad."

Clancy: Hard Work Never Killed Anybody

Jeffrey N.: The Guy who managed to get the lead out of his pants, but they were still the wrong pants.

A panhandler with a sign that reads "I'll never work in this town again!".

"Take us to your feeder."

'Hmmm, the 27th you say... Yes, I'm away that day, so I guess it's OK for you to play...'

"Herewith, we recommend the following: when you're up to your rear in alligators, it's worth remembering your original purpose was to drain the swamp...."

"Always a bridesmaid..."

We all know we're up against a new ball game, a paradigm shift and a game changer, but luckily the cliches remain the same.