A cliché (from French, pronounced [klɪ'ʃe]) is a phrase, expression, or idea that has been overused to the point of losing its intended force or novelty, especially when at some time it was considered distinctively forceful or novel. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people The term is most likely to be used in a negative context.
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Identification
"Cliché" applies also to almost any situation, plot device, subject, characterization, figure of speech, or object—in short, any sign—that has become overly familiar or commonplace. A plot device is an element introduced into a story solely to advance or resolve the plot of the story UserScottandrewhutchins: http//enwikipediaorg/w/indexphp?title=Characterization&diff=next&oldid=157919139 --> Characterization is a process of conveying A figure of speech, sometimes In Semiotics, a sign is "something that stands for something else to someone in some capacity"
Because the novelty or frequency of an expression's use varies across different times and places, whether or not it is a cliché depends largely on who uses it, the context in which it is used, and who is making the judgment.
The meaning of a particular cliché may shift over time, often leading to confusion or misuse.
When a type of media can be identified as using a cliché, this is often interpreted as the writer running out of original ideas and resorting to less imaginative concepts. For this reason, it is nearly always a negative point in creative media. Exceptions include in comedy, where the situation gains humour for being cliché.
Examples of concepts that can be clichés (note - it is very possible to use one of these devices in a creative way, without it being cliché):
- A character wakes up, to realise that the preceeding events have been a dream, and didn't really happen.
- The main enemy coming back for 'one last stand' after supposedly being defeated.
- All loose story arcs being resolved quickly and happily at the very end.
For the concept of resorting to cliché increasingly, to the decline of a continuous or long running show, see jumping the shark. Jumping the shark is a Colloquialism used by TV Critics and fans to denote that point in a TV show or movie series' history where the plot veers
Other meanings
A cliché is also a term historically used in printing, for a printing plate cast from movable type. Movable type is the system of Printing and Typography that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document (usually individual letters or punctuation This is also called a stereotype. A stereotype, in printing was originally a "a solid plate or type-metal cast from a papier-mâché or plaster mould taken from the surface of a Forme of type" ( [1] When letters were set one at a time it made sense to cast a phrase used over and again as one single slug of metal. That constantly repeated phrase was known as a cliché.
Quote
| “ | It is a cliché that most clichés are true, but then, like most clichés, that cliché is untrue. | ” |
— Stephen Fry in his book Moab Is My Washpot. Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957 is an English Humorist, Writer, Wit, Actor, Novelist, filmmaker Moab Is My Washpot (published 1997) is Stephen Fry ’s humorous Autobiography, covering the first 20 years of his life
See also
- Anti-cliché
- Archetype
- Banished Words List
- Idiom
- Simile
- Snowclone
- Stock character
- Stereotype
- Thought-terminating cliché
References
- ^ Museum of printing: discussion of stereotype/cliché. An anti-cliché is a literary device or figure of speech that twists the meaning or phrasing of a known Cliché. An archetype ( pronounced: /ˈɑːkɪtaɪp/ (Brit or /ˈɑrkɪtaɪp/ (Amer An idiom is a Phrase whose meaning cannot be deduced from the literal Definition, but refers instead to a figurative meaning that is known only SIMILE is a research project focused on developing tools to increase the interoperability of disparate digital collections A snowclone is a type of Cliché and Phrasal template originally defined as "a multi-use customizable instantly recognizable time-worn quoted or misquoted A stock character is one which relies heavily on cultural types or names for his or her personality manner of speech and other characteristics A stereotype (from Greek: stereo + týpos = "solid impression" is a generalized perception of first impressions behaviors presumed by a group A thought-terminating Cliché is a commonly used phrase sometimes passing as folk wisdom used to quell Cognitive dissonance.
External links
Dictionary
cliché
-noun
- Something, most often a phrase or expression, that is overused and has thus lost its original impact; a trite saying; a platitude.
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