1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910791188103321

Autore

Hargraves Orin

Titolo

It's been said before : a guide to the use and abuse of clichés / / Orin Hargraves

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New York : , : Oxford University Press, , 2014

©2014

ISBN

0-19-931575-2

0-19-931574-4

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (249 pages) : illustrations

Classificazione

LAN000000LAN016000LAN021000

Disciplina

428/.1

Soggetti

Clichés

English language

English language - Usage

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Includes index.

Nota di contenuto

Machine generated contents note: -- Introduction -- 1. Adjectival Clichés: Clichés that modify nouns or serve as predicates after linking verbs -- 2. Adverbial Clichés: Clichés that function as adverbials, describing how, when, with what, in what manner, etc. -- 3. People, Places, and Things: Clichés that function as noun phrases -- 4. Framing Devices: Clichés used to introduce, contextualize, or conclude questions or statements -- 5. Modifier Abuse: Clichés arising from extremely frequent and/or inapt collocation of particular adjectives with nouns, or of submodifying adverbs with adjectives -- 6. Predicate Clichés: Clichés beginning with a finite verb that serve as complete predicates -- 7. Quantification: Clichés that characterize quantities -- 8. Situational Clichés: Clichés consisting of complete sentences that characterize a situation or action -- 9. Clichés About Clichés: ways that people talk about or mention clichés that are themselves clichés -- 10. Appendix I: joined by "and" clichés: numerous phrases consisting of words joined by 'and'.

Sommario/riassunto

"Careful writers and speakers agree that clichés are generally to be avoided. However, nearly all of us continue to use them. Why do they persist in our language?  In It's Been Said Before, lexicographer Orin



Hargraves examines the peculiar idea and power of the cliché. He helps readers understand why certain phrases became clichés and why they should be avoided -- or why they still have life left in them. Indeed, clichés can be useful -- even powerful. And few people even agree on which expressions are clichés and which are not. Many regard any frequent idiom as a cliché, and a phrase regarded as a cliché in one context may be seen simply as an effective expression in another. Examples drawn from data about actual usage support Hargraves' identification of true clichés. They also illuminate his commentary on usage problems and helpful suggestions for eliminating clichés where they serve no useful purpose.  Concise and lively, It's Been Said Before serves as a guide to the most overused phrases in the English language -- and to phrases that are used exactly as often as they should be"--

"This book provides a concise and lively guide to the most abused phrases in the English language today"--