Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Snark Handbook: Clichés Edition: Overused Buzzwords, Hackneyed Phrases, and Other Misuses of the English Language
    The Snark Handbook: Clichés Edition: Overused Buzzwords, Hackneyed Phrases, and Other Misuses of the English Language
    The Snark Handbook: Clichés Edition: Overused Buzzwords, Hackneyed Phrases, and Other Misuses of the English Language
    Ebook130 pages49 minutes

    The Snark Handbook: Clichés Edition: Overused Buzzwords, Hackneyed Phrases, and Other Misuses of the English Language

    By Lawrence Dorfman

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    CLICHÉ: noun
    Etymology: French, literally, printer's stereotype, from past participle of clichér, to stereotype, of imitative origin
    Date: 1892
    1 : a trite phrase or expression; also : the idea expressed by it
    2 : a hackneyed theme, characterization, or situation
    3 : something that has become overly familiar or commonplace

     In the words of Stephen Fry, “It is a cliché that most clichés are true, but then like most clichés, that cliché is untrue.” Clichés are like rationalizations: try going a week without using one. It can't be done! They are the hobgoblin of little minds. For most of us, once you begin to take notice, they are fingernails on a chalkboard.
    From Shakespeare to Shakira; in music, on television, at the movies; in the boardroom, on a conference call, online or in person, clichés have taken over the world. While some nitwits might say they're just misunderstood, they didn't start out that way. There was a time when they were new and vibrant, clever and pithy. Now they're just predictable—a vapid collection of much-too-familiar descriptions or metaphors that often replace smart conversation, speech, or writing.

    This book is a collection of the most overused phrases of all time. Hopefully, it'll make you laugh. Hopefully, it'll make them think. And at the end of the day, if the early bird catches the worm and the slow and steady win the race . . .

     Please . . . kill . . . me . . . now.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSkyhorse
    Release dateOct 1, 2012
    ISBN9781620875254
    The Snark Handbook: Clichés Edition: Overused Buzzwords, Hackneyed Phrases, and Other Misuses of the English Language
    Author

    Lawrence Dorfman

    Lawrence Dorfman has more than thirty years of experience in the bookselling world, including stints at Simon and Schuster, Penguin, and Harry N. Abrams. He is the author of the Snark Handbook series including The Snark Handbook: Politics and Government Edition, The Snark Handbook: Insult Edition; The Snark Handbook: Sex Edition, Snark! The Herald Angels Sing, and The Snark Handbook: Clichés Edition. He lives in Connecticut.

    Read more from Lawrence Dorfman

    Related to The Snark Handbook

    Related ebooks

    Humor & Satire For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Wild Cards

      Oct 28, 2021

      Wild Cards
      4 min read

    • Article

      You Talkin’ To Me?

      Jan 6, 2022

      You Talkin’ To Me?
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Final Truth

      Jan 21, 2020

      The Final Truth
      5 min read

    • Article

      Speedboat

      Mar 24, 2022

      Nobody died that year. Nobody prospered. There were no births or marriages. Seventeen reverent satires were written – disrupting a cliché and, presumably, creating a genre. That was a dream, of course, but many of the most important things, I fi nd,

      14 min read

    • Article

      Luke Heggie

      Jan 18, 2023

      Luke Heggie
      1 min read

    • Article

      Luke Heggie

      Jan 18, 2023

      Luke Heggie
      1 min read

    • Article

      Naked Truths

      Nov 22, 2020

      Of course we had a row. You can’t, or I can’t, interview Paul Henry and not have a row. Somebody once took a picture of us glaring at each other in an Auckland bar, silently but furiously having a row, and put it on social media. It was a picture of

      8 min read

    • Article

      What's Making Us Happy: A Guide For Your Weekend Watching, Listening And Reading

      Sep 17, 2021

      Each week, the guests and hosts on Pop Culture Happy Hour share what's bringing them joy. Today it's Run the World, the card game Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza and coverage of the Theranos trial.

      4 min read

    • Article

      SHORT STORY by MARGARET ATWOOD

      Mar 22, 2023

      SHORT STORY by MARGARET ATWOOD
      7 min read

    • Article

      SHORT STORY by MARGARET ATWOOD

      Mar 22, 2023

      SHORT STORY by MARGARET ATWOOD
      7 min read

    • Article

      Jim Jefferies

      Jul 20, 2022

      Jim Jefferies
      2 min read

    • Article

      Q&A: John Moe

      May 1, 2020

      Why this book? I lost my brother to depression and suicide after he had spent a lifetime struggling in silence, too ashamed to get help. At his service, it dawned on me that these are issues that have a chance of getting better if people can talk abo

      2 min read

    • Article

      You Talkin’ To Me?

      Dec 20, 2019

      IN THE CROSSHAIRS THIS MONTHMARTIN FREEMAN You talkin’ to me? Yes, I am. I am definitely talking to you. If I was imagining this, it’d be frightening. Do you feel lucky, punk? Yes. I do feel very lucky; in life, generally, and in my work. I’m also pr

      3 min read

    • Article

      Dead Good

      Jul 21, 2022

      “This is a straightup arena banger plowing through a not-so-subtle social commentary about the epic clown-show we are all living in today. Addicted to ‘likes’ and ‘thumbs ups’, people really will do just about anything for that digital dopamine.” “At

      3 min read

    • Article

      You Talkin’ To Me?

      Dec 7, 2023

      You Talkin’ To Me?
      3 min read

    • Article

      On My Radar: Charlie Brooker’s Cultural Highlights

      Jul 8, 2023

      Born in Reading in 1971, Charlton “Charlie” Brooker started to write TV reviews for the Guardian in 2000, winning the British Press award for columnist of the year in 2009. He has written for television programmes including Brass Eye, The Eleven O’Cl

      3 min read

    • Article

      So Trashy So Good

      Aug 2, 2020

      So Trashy So Good
      2 min read

    • Article

      Party Pooper

      Jan 29, 2023

      Party Pooper
      2 min read

    • Article

      Choosing DISTRACTION

      Jun 22, 2020

      Choosing DISTRACTION
      8 min read

    • Article

      Bubble & trouble

      Dec 11, 2020

      Bubble & trouble
      3 min read

    • Article

      You Talkin’ To Me?

      May 1, 2020

      IN THE CROSSHAIRS THIS MONTH PAUL WALTER HAUSER Are you talking to me? Are you talking to me? Are you talking to me? If you’re not talking to me, then who the fuck are you talking to? That would be my response. No, it’s a treat to talk to you, becaus

      3 min read

    • Article

      Jim Jefferies

      Jul 26, 2022

      Jim Jefferies
      2 min read

    • Article

      Nik Rabinowitz

      Nov 26, 2018

      Nik Rabinowitz
      3 min read

    • Article

      Jim Jefferies

      Jun 16, 2021

      Jim Jefferies
      2 min read

    • Article

      Jim Jefferies

      Jun 16, 2021

      Jim Jefferies
      2 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Snark Handbook

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      The Snark Handbook - Lawrence Dorfman

      Introduction

      Last, but not least, avoid clichés like the plague.

      —WILLIAM SAFIRE

      Cliché : noun

      Etymology: French, literally, printer’s stereotype, from past participle of cliché r to stereotype, of imitative origin

      Date: 1892

      1 : a trite phrase or expression; also : the idea expressed by it

      2 : a hackneyed theme, characterization, or situation

      3 : something that has become overly familiar or commonplace

      4: Overused

      I detest cliché’s with a passion. In the words of Stephen Frye, It is a cliché that most clichés are true, but then like most clichés, that cliché is untrue.

      Clichés are like rationalizations.* Try going a week without using one . . . can’t be done.

      They are the hobgoblin of little minds. For many, they are the drug of choice. For most of us, once you begin to take notice, they are fingernails on a blackboard.

      From Shakespeare (the undisputed King of the cliché) to Shakira; in music, on television, at the movies . . . in the boardroom, on a conference call, online or in person (offline?), clichés have overtaken the world.

      And while some might say they’re just misunderstood, they didn’t start out that way. There was a time when they were new and vibrant. Once, they were clever and pithy. Now, they’re just predictable.They’re a way to say something when there’s a pause in the conversation. Some think it’s better than the popular use of the words like and you know . . . not a chance. Both affectations are annoying. The fall-back cliché is just that . . . something to fall back on when your brain shuts down, your sense of humor is on vacation, and your tongue is fast asleep. Resist. You’ll be better for it.

      This book is a collection of many of the most overused ones. And after each one, a snark. A snide remark to point out to the user how trite he/she sounds.

      Hopefully, it’ll make you laugh. Hopefully, it’ll make you think.

      But, at the end of the day, the early bird catches the worm and slow and steady wins the race . . .

      Kill me now.*

      The Snark Handbook

      Clichés Edition

      Life and Death

      I feel like a cliché.

      —JONATHAN CARROLL

      WHEN THE GOING GETS rough, people tend to fall back on the lifelines that cliché’s have become for them today. In this chapter, as we delve into Life and Death, Heaven and Hell, Good and Evil, Blood, Sweat, Tears . . . one can see where the quick fix of a fallback cliché might be a hardy temptation . . . resist it . . . you’ll thank me later.

      The first man to compare the cheeks of a young woman to a rose was obviously a poet; the first to repeat it was possibly an idiot.

      —SALVADORE DALI

      Bite the dust / Bite your lip / Bite the bullet / Bite your tongue—come on, bite something already, anything.

      ••

      Blood is thicker than water—and a lot harder to get out of clothing.

      •••

      Time heals all wounds—Bullshit. Drugs heal all wounds. Time does nothing except go by.

      ••

      Blood money—Always welcome at many of your finer establishments . . . otherwise Vegas would still be a desert.

      •••

      You’ve got blood on your hands—Don’t say anything until you see a lawyer.

      ••

      I spent my blood, sweat, and tears—and all I ever get is some schmuck singing about a dumbass spinning wheel.

      •••

      Ashes to ashes, dust to dust—not to mention a few bone fragments, a ligament or two . . . all things visceral, Sherlock.

      ••

      You’re gonna be dead meat—but given the choice, that’s a whole lot better than being a dead vegetable, no? I mean, wouldn’t you much rather be a hearty steak than a limp and flaccid broccoli?

      •••

      The only thing certain are death and taxes—and Congress keeps trying to find ways to tax you long after you’ve died.

      ••

      He’s gone, but not forgotten—Well . . . not yet. Give it a few days. It’s like swallowing a cherry stone . . . it’ll pass.

      •••

      You can’t take it with you—so I’m definitely going to spend every last dime

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1