This is a phrase or idea which has lost its impact because it has been overused. Some metaphors – ‘the apple of his eye’ – and similes – ‘as good as gold’ – come into this category. However, the favourite...

Pejorative term taken from printers’ language, generally used to refer to a commonly occurring utterance that is used schematically. ‘Cliché’ is also used as a more neutral synonym for stereotype, idiom, or formula. Partridge, E....

A cliché (from French, 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. The term is generally used in...