Line #5 Main/Cliche


1	->''"The old roads and dusty highways have been traversed too often. Their charm has been worn away by plodding feet, and they have lost that element of novelty or surprise which is so essential for romance."''
2	-->-- '''Gilbert''', ''Creator/OscarWilde'', ''The Critic as Artist''
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4	A cliché is a [[StockPhrases phrase]], {{motif}}, {{trope}}, or other element within an artistic work that has become common enough to be seen as an expected part of a work.
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6	This is ''very'' subjective and dependent on the consumer's culture and knowledge level: for example, an American buying their very first issue of a Japanese {{manga}} might find it new and unique, but in its home country of Japan the same manga may be considered typical. A person playing their first RolePlayingGame might not realize the MysteriousWaif is far from original. Even then, though, just through PopculturalOsmosis or a sort of "sixth sense", people not familiar with the cliché might be able to spot it as such.
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8	In spite of the negative stigma, many clichés are fully accepted by the audience, for the same reason as something [[StrictlyFormula formulaic]] works: ''because'' of its familiarity. The sheer number of {{Police Procedural}}s, {{Medical Drama}}s, and {{Romance Novel}}s with summaries that are practically interchangeable exist because people like them anyway, as they ignore the clichés and instead focus on the great stories and characters. A lot of ExecutiveMeddling aims to make a work ''more'' clichéd simply as a way of appealing to broader audiences.
9	As Creator/TerryPratchett said,
10	->Clichés are the hammer and screwdriver in the toolbox of communication.
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12	There are also circumstances under which clichés are expected. To quote Crash Davis from ''Film/BullDurham'':
13	->You're gonna have to learn your clichés. You're gonna have to study them, you're gonna have to know them. They're your friends. Write this down...
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15	The term cliché is also sometimes used to refer to a verbal {{meme}}. This usage is almost exclusively reserved for old folk sayings. Expressions such as "the early bird gets the worm" and "raining cats and dogs" are examples. Of course, just like internet memes, cliches [[PlayingWithATrope mutate]] over time and iterations. One person [[PopularSayingBut might say]] "The early bird gets the worm, [[{{Metaphorgotten}} but who wants worms]]?", "The early worm feeds the bird", or "It's raining cats and [[SublimeRhyme frogs]]!"
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17	Therefore, it's key to remember that TropesAreTools--even the Cliché. Just cause the audience is expecting/predicting the trope, doesn't mean [[NecessaryWeasel they don't want to see it]]. In fact, a writer may very well [[AudienceAlienatingPremise alienate the audience]] precisely ''because'' they went through great lengths to avoid a widely accepted cliché. It is because of this that a cliché has just as much potential to become a SugarWiki/FavoriteTrope as it does a PetPeeveTrope.
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19	The name cliché dates back to older printing presses. When each letter had to be individually set, a common phrase would often be cast as a single block piece called a cliché (after the sound it made; the blocks were also called {{stereotype}}s, which itself ended up picking up a new meaning over time). Such ease of use ended up with authors over-utilizing them to save on costs. The term came to mean the readily available phrase itself, before broadening to include any overused element.
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21	Note that "cliché" is not an adjective: if something has become a cliché, it's "clichéd".
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23	See also:
24	* ClicheStorm -- When a work has numerous tropes with a definite pattern.
25	* DeadHorseTrope -- Period of trope life cycle when nobody uses a trope seriously anymore, only parodies and subversions of it.
26	** DeadUnicornTrope -- The cliché is never used seriously, but it never ''was'' played straight in the first place.
27	** UndeadHorseTrope -- Clichéd trope is still used unironically.
28	* DiscreditedMeme -- Meme becomes overused.
29	* DiscreditedTrope -- Trope becomes a cliché.
30	* GrandfatherClause -- Normally DiscreditedTrope or DeadHorseTrope can be played straight in a work which was made when the trope was cool.
31	* NeverHeardThatOneBefore -- A joke that is so overused it's not even funny anymore.
32	* StockPhrases -- Clichéd lines.
33	* JustForFun/TropeOverdosed and OverdosedTropes
34	* {{Troperiffic}} -- When a work has fun with playing numerous tropes with a definite pattern.
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Context Main / Cliche