Quotations Weblog

The Quotations Page doesn’t really specialize in cliches because they tend to have been said so many times that finding the original author is difficult. If you’re looking for the right cliche, you will probably have better luck with Cliche Finder.

• Cliche Finder

I tested it with my favorite test word, “frog.” When I did, the following cliches came up:

fine as frog hair
you have to kiss a few frogs before you find a prince
got a frog in your throat?
a frog in one’s throat
battin’ your eyes like a toadfrog in a hailstorm
Finer than frogs hair
I’m fine as frog’s hair
finer than frogs hair, split three ways

Four of the cliches are actually the same cliche repeated. “Finer than frog’s hair” isn’t a cliche I’ve ever heard of. I found the cliche that I was looking for, “a frog in your throat,” but it also brought up the frog/prince cliche that I had forgotten about.

I also looked for the cliche, “is that a rabbit in your pocket or are you just happy to see me,” but nothing came up. I tried just searching the word rabbit and just searching pocket (and various other pieces of clothing), but nothing came up. I don’t know if that cliche has been deemed inappropriate or if they are just incomplete. You’d think if they have obscure cliches like “older than my grandma’s underpants” they would have the rabbit and pocket cliche.

Although it’s not perfect, its better than you’ll find on The Quotations Page because we just don’t deal in cliches. If you are at a loss for words and just know there is some cliche but can’t remember the exact wording, Cliche Finder might help you out.

Via: Boing Boing: Web Zen: writing zen