MARC Record from Library of Congress

LEADER: 03650cam a2200397 i 4500
001 2013047098
003 DLC
005 20150607073816.0
008 131209s2014 nyu 001 0 eng
010 $a 2013047098
020 $a9780199315734 (hardback)
020 $z9780199315741 (ebook)
020 $z9780199315758 (ebook)
040 $aDLC$beng$cDLC$erda
042 $apcc
050 00 $aPE1442$b.H37 2014
082 00 $a428/.1$223
084 $aLAN000000$aLAN016000$aLAN021000$2bisacsh
100 1 $aHargraves, Orin,$eauthor.
245 10 $aIt's been said before :$ba guide to the use and abuse of cliches /$cOrin Hargraves.
264 1 $aNew York :$bOxford University Press, USA,$c[2014]
300 $axii, 229 pages ;$c25 cm
336 $atext$2rdacontent
337 $aunmediated$2rdamedia
338 $avolume$2rdacarrier
500 $aIncludes index.
520 $a"Careful writers and speakers agree that clichés are generally to be avoided. However, nearly all of us continue to use them. Why do they persist in our language? In It's Been Said Before, lexicographer Orin Hargraves examines the peculiar idea and power of the cliché. He helps readers understand why certain phrases became clichés and why they should be avoided -- or why they still have life left in them. Indeed, clichés can be useful -- even powerful. And few people even agree on which expressions are clichés and which are not. Many regard any frequent idiom as a cliché, and a phrase regarded as a cliché in one context may be seen simply as an effective expression in another. Examples drawn from data about actual usage support Hargraves' identification of true clichés. They also illuminate his commentary on usage problems and helpful suggestions for eliminating clichés where they serve no useful purpose. Concise and lively, It's Been Said Before serves as a guide to the most overused phrases in the English language -- and to phrases that are used exactly as often as they should be"--$cProvided by publisher.
520 $a"This book provides a concise and lively guide to the most abused phrases in the English language today"--$cProvided by publisher.
505 8 $aMachine 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'.
650 0 $aClichés.
650 0 $aEnglish language$vTerms and phrases.
650 0 $aEnglish language$xUsage.
650 0 $aEnglish language$vHumor.
650 7 $aLANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / General.$2bisacsh
650 7 $aLANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / Semantics.$2bisacsh
650 7 $aLANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Vocabulary.$2bisacsh