Banned for Life

Tom Mangan's collection of reviled news media cliches

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No difference

Posted on February 14, 2004 by tom

From Andy McCann:

What a difference a day makes. (Alternatively, “a year,”
etc.)

Posted in Business, Features, News, Sports

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Hatin’ on the hackneyed

Banned for Life is devoted to those expressions so gratingly overused that they should be forever banned from the nation's news reports.

George Orwell put it best:

"Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print."

# # #

These are my most-loathed expressions:
  • " 'Tis the Season" at Christmas.
  • Campaign "war chests."
  • Downpours that "couldn't dampen the spirits" of all those upon whom the rain fell.
  • "Play in Peoria" in any story or headline relating to the central Illinois town of my birth.
  • "The good news is .... the bad news is...."

This site is about what not to write if you write news for a living. It's not about annoying expressions that crop up in everyday conversations.

If Katie Couric's saying it, please tell me about it. If it's your annoying brother-in-law, grit your teeth and be thankful half of all marriages end in divorce.

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Cliche links

  • 100 worst groaners
  • Banished Words List
  • Cliche Finder
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  • ClicheSite.com
  • Gardening cliches
  • Jargon Buster
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  • The Book of Cliches
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