Thread: The World Of Clishés

The task is easy enough: Continue the story. The twist is that you should try to include as many clichés as you possibly can without disturbing the coherense of the story. The more subtly you can put them in, the better, but even the most obvious ones are welcomed. The clichés can be at the level of events and things or at the level of narrative ("It was a dark and stormy night"), anyway you like. Be as clever as you want, you'll get kudos from all the clichés that the others can't see at first

If you don't feel like contributing you can always just try to spot the clichés used so far and comment /discuss them. Just write OFFTOPIC etc. before your post.

I'll start.

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The alarm clock went off. John didn't open his eyes at first, he just hit the clock with the back of his hand to silence it. It had been a rough night. When hitting the showers after the game the coach had told him he'd never make it big. That he was a waste of space.

John had drank. A lot. That's all he could remember. Or not really. There had been this girl, Jessie. Or had there? She had followed him like a shadow. He could only remember some little details about her. She was five foot three (and a half), her hair was curly and almond-coloured. Her eyes were sharp and green. Her shoesize was nine, her parents were from Poughkeepsie and her jacket had a tag that said "Made In Switzerland". But that was all. Who was she and what had she had to say to him? The questions ran through his head as did his hands - only that they ran up and down his face. He had risen up and he felt shaky.

John stood in front of a mirror and studied his body. He was a man in his twenties, wide-shouldered and slightly tanned. This he of course already knew. He excamined his eyes very closely. They were blue and he could see a hint of sadness in them. He ran his fingers through his dark brown hair and the hair in his muscular chest. He sighed. "What have you gotten yourself into?", he asked while leaning forward towards the mirror. He didn't answer. He didn't have to.

Suddenly the doorbell rang. John grabbed a towel, tied it around his slim waist and headed to the door.

Kristy scrowled as her phone went off, reaching over she flipped it open,
"yes?" She yawned rolling over so she was staring at the ceiling,
"Good morning Kristy, your getting up now aren't you?" Almost as if she had no choice, Kristy was on her feet standing up,
"Yeah, I guess I am thanks Jessie" She snarled back over the phone only to get an answering laught,
"Oh now little sister relax would you, I just have a small errand for you too run, okay get a pen and paper" Kristy moved imediately without the slightest hesitation and listened intently as her older sister gave her the details of someone and told her to go and give him her number. As the phone hung up Kristy quickly got dressed and headed outside.

It was a nice morning the sun was shining, Kristy smiled her greatings to people who walked by as she approached the appartment block of the person she was supposed to meet. She stood infront of the door, and tenatively pressed the door bell. Taking a step back she waited, she could here footsteps on the other side of the door, naturally she was suprised when an attractive young man opened it, her eyes widened a little and she nervously reached up to move a stray strand of her blond hair out of her eyes,

"Uh, hi, umm, my names Kristy, my sister Jessie sent me to see you" She said quietly wishing there was some way that she could save him from the unforcenant fate that was about to befall him.

What's a clish? Is that like a fish with a clit?

Oh so mature Ox, I think this is a good idea anyway

I corrected my spelling of "cliché". As OX probably figured out, the spelling of "cliché" in Finnish ("klisee") interfered with the French spelling in my mind. I'm sure it happens to him the other way around all the time when he's writing in Finnish.

I suppose, but either way.

OFFTOPIC
Finding out cliches may look like a witch hunt. And as such it might be exciting. These are the passages that I find looking like cliches.
"There had been this girl, Jessie. Or had there?" - but I don't know how it would be possible to avoid it.
"She had followed him like a shadow." It sounds like a cliche too. If she followed him like a shadow how is it possible that he remembered only a few details about her?
"The questions ran through his head as did his hands - only that they ran up and down his face." The first part of the sentence is a cliche but the second part ( as did his hands...) undoes the cliche effect meanwhile making the sentence incongruous.
But really I don't know what the cliche is. Will anybody suggest a definition to be guided by?

You spelt Oxymoron wrong...

Taken from Wikipedia:

"A cliché (from French, pronounced [klɪ'ʃeɪ]) or cliche is a saying, 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, rendering it a stereotype. The term is likely to be used in a negative context. It is frequently used in modern culture to reference an action or idea that is expected or predictable based on a prior event."

There ya go, some examples perhaps?:
fall on deaf ears
he's his own worse enemy
it's better to find a whole worm in your apple than half a worm.
at loggerheads
c'est la guerre
costs a pretty penny
life is not all fun and games
searching for that special someone
balance of power
an accident waiting to happen

Those were taken from Ten Random Cliches!
Apparently it's a list of ten random clichés.

Cefor