Shurely some mistake? A new study has found that British newspapers and websites, far from being the best written on the planet, are actually riddled with clichés.
The report, by the news and information company Factiva, found that "at the end of the day" was the most over-used cliché in newspapers and websites - clocking up an eye-watering 3,347 mentions between January and June.
Financial terms "in the red" and "in the black" were second and third in the survey, followed by "level playing field", "time and again" and "wealth of experience". A quick glance shows that financial clichés dominate, as do clichéd references to time (six in the top 20). A wake up call (geddit?) to our business writers, perhaps?
The survey prompted an instant debate here at MediaGuardian towers. I think you can make a case for "in the black", but I, erm, draw the line at phrases such as "rushed to the scene" - 310 uses in six months, since you ask.
Media clichés are somewhat under-represented, with no mention of "thinking outside the box", "drilling down deep", "the long tail" or even "the tipping point".
Clichés have a shelf life and can outlive their usefulness: can you remember when "twin peaks", "thousand points of light", the "information super-highway" and "new world order" were repeated parrot-fashion by just about everybody? Equally, they can sit gathering dust in obscurity until they are picked up by a politician, public figure or TV show, and then become amazingly popular.
But however much we disdain them, there is a reason they catch on and it's not just journalistic laziness. They usually express things rather aptly and thus become the sort of phrase it's hard to avoid using. Consistent use of language can sometimes help readers. Still, at the end of the day, as journalists we should try to avoid avoid being repetitive and this survey ought to give us plenty of pause for thought.
