Dead Phrases Index
Lecture: Dead Phrases
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Description: Below is a non-exhaustive record of the most common dead phrases
that invade our sentences. While none of these phrases are cardinal sins of language,
they do prevent us from expressing our individuality. Using the same outworn words
can quickly slip the mind into a reduced state of consciousness whereby words are
chosen for their ease of access and not their meaning.
As Orwell said, “A speaker who uses this kind of phraseology has gone some
distance toward turning himself into a machine. The appropriate noises are coming
out of his larynx, but his brain is not involved as it would be if he were choosing his
words for himself. If the speech he is making is one that he is accustomed to make
over and over again, he may be almost unconscious of what he is saying, as one is
when one utters the responses in church.”
Aim to reduce the popularity of these expressions by reviewing the list below. Pause
after each relevant dead phrase to think about how you might reinterpret the
expression using your own words. Get your mind straining, groaning as you break
these lifeless word blocks into vivid components. The objective is to explore your
understanding of what these phrases mean so that you can become more conscious
with your word selection.
30 Most Pervasive Dead Phrases (2024)
Pursue that The Achilles ecret sauce Low-hangin
avenue heel g fruit
Across the Spill the At the end Get the ball
board beans of the day rolling
Time will tell To say the Deep dive It goes
least without
saying
Ins and outs Avoid like In this day Ball in your
the plague and age court
© Joseph Tsar 2024 betterspeakpro.com
On the Think On my radar In a nutshell
same page outside the
box
In my In terms of Me Piece of
opinion personally cake
Best bet Big picture Blood, For all
sweat, and intents and
tears purposes
Rocket Take it to Bite the Right off the
science the next bullet bat
level
In all Wow factor Go the extra Huge fan of
likelihood mile
Take it with Elephant in Move the
a grain of the room needle
salt
© Joseph Tsar 2024 betterspeakpro.com
