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Some of my favorite cliches
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My original draft for my final Philip Pfiles read like a long
cliche (which is what most of my stories are - I'm told that admitting
that you have a problem is I;:the first step to recovery).
So I decided to devote the last article of the year to my addiction...
I mean, to cliches. The reasons that they are so overused are that
they are usually true and make a complex truth simple.
Take the cliche: Hurt people hurt. This pithy saying plainly
lays out so much of the crime, physical and verbal abuse, neglect
and hatred. Each human is still responsible for his/her own actions
and responses when hurt, but still the cliche helps others to understand.
If only the opposite were true: "Healed people heal..."
What follows is a compilation of cliches with my annoying commentary.
May this trip back to simple truthville provide you with a little
relaxation for finals week.
I tried to get the most popular version of each cliche but I
don't know if I got them all right.
An excuse is another word for failure.
The grass is always greener on the other side. It is good for
seniors to be excited about the future; everyone else, don't get
over eager. You do not know what you have until it is gone.
The last shall be first - especially if you are good at cutting
in line.
It is always darkest before the dawn, and for many of us this
mean's it's time for bed.
Bullies are babies dressed in leather.
If at first you do not succeed, try and try again. Eventually,
you may want to take off the emergency brake.
Behind every joke there is a little truth, unless it is directed
at me.
Kill two birds with one stone. If you can find the stone afterwards,
you have too much time on your hands.
When God closes a door, look for a window. However, you might
want to ring the doorbell again before you crawl through a second
story window.
Never generalize. Generalizations are always wrong.
Ignorance is bliss, or at least that is what I'm told.
It is better to ask forgiveness than to ask permission. I hope
they don't mind my priming this.
The early bird gets the worm. This translates to "any teacher
who teaches a 7:50 needs a change of diet."
Do not throw the baby out with the bath water. If you confuse
the baby with the bath water, the baby probably needs another bath.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Many doctors have become
suspicious of their spouses who purchase bushels of apples out of
season.
If you love someone, there is nothing to forgive, While I don't
believe that this cliche is true, I do use it a lot to remind people
I offend.
Success is 10% inspiration, 90% perspiration. Anything less would
be uncivilized.
Be all you can be; don't just be.
Forgotten how to be' Remember, it is like riding a bike - once
you know how you never forget.
What goes around comes around. This could be restated: What a
round is comes and goes, but that wouldn't make sense.
If you do not like the weather in Oklahoma, wait 10 minutes and
it will change.
It is easier to lead 100 than to push one.
Religion is standing around the cross. Christianity is getting
on it.
The following are some of my favorite cliches from childhood:
This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you. Once we got
rid of the foam paddle, this phrase was no longer used.
If everyone jumped off of a cliff, would you' This comment was
often made BBC (before bungee cord); nowadays parents avoid this
question in fear of the answer.
You just wait; your turn is coming. This was the pat answer I
received from my parents whenever I complained about not being accepted,
popular, a rocket scientist or having a girlfriend. My turn for
the most important of these has come - the first three can wait.
Keep your chin up, shoulder to the grindstone, and turn that
frown upside down - don't you know that your tears will make the
ocean overflow?
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