Clichés to Avoid

	A Military Writer's Handbook
	Words

Clichés to Avoid

A
acid test agony of defeat at this point in time axe to grind	accident waiting to happen agree to disagree at a loss for words	add insult to injury as good as dead avoid like the plague

B
ball's in his/their court better part of valour bite the dust bloody but unbowed brainchild busy as a bee / beaver	beat around the bush between a rock and a hard place bite the bullet bottom line brought back to reality by the same token	better late than never beyond the shadow of a doubt bitter end bottom of the barrel burn your bridges

C
calm, cool, and collected cold light of day crowning glory cut and dried	can't see the forest for the trees come to grips with crushing blow	chip off the old block consensus of opinion crying shame

D
dead as a doornail dyed in the wool	do or die	down but not out

E
easier said than done	easy as pie	explore every avenue

F
face the facts / music	few and far between	first and foremost

G
gentle as a lamb go over like a lead balloon	get the lead out go over with a fine-tooth comb	gone but not forgotten gutless wonder

H
happy as a ______ hearts and minds hit the nail on the head	hard as a rock heavy as lead hot knife through butter	hard row to hoe hit me like a ton of bricks hour of need

I
in a nutshell in the final analysis it goes without saying it stands to reason	in a very real sense in the neighbourhood of it is incumbent upon	in terms of in this day and age it is interesting to note

J
jump on the bandwagon

K
knee-jerk reaction

L
ladder of success last-ditch [anything]	larger than life last straw	last but not least learning experience

M
make a shambles of mother of all [anything]	method in his madness moving experience	mind like a steel trap

N
needle in a haystack nip in the bud	neither here nor there nose to the grindstone	nip and tuck not too distant future

O
off the beaten track out of the blue	off the wall on thin ice	once and for all other side of the coin

P
paramount importance piece of cake proof is in the pudding	pass the buck pivotal figure	pave the way pride and joy

Q
quick as a flash / wink / lightning

R
rank and file	rear its ugly head	rude awakening

S
sadder but wiser shoot from the hip shot in the dark shoulder to the wheel skin of your teeth smooth sailing spread like wildfire straw that broke the camel's back	sell like hot cakes short and sweet shot to hell sink or swim slow but sure sneaking suspicion stick your neck out strike while the iron is hot	sharp as a razor / tack short end of the stick shoulder the burden six of one, half a dozen of another smelling like a rose speak of the devil straight and narrow suffice it to say

T
tangled web throw the baby out with the bathwater tip of the iceberg to say the least tried and true	think outside the box throw your weight around to all intents and purposes tough as nails two-edged sword	throw in the towel till the cows come home too little too late tough nut to crack

U
up a creek	up in arms	up one side and down the other

V
vicious circle / cycle

W
walk a fine line with regard to	wet blanket work like a dog / horse / [anything]	when all is said and done