Summary
...clichés are also part of the poetry of
everyday life. When my close friend Carol
Reuben starts conversations with “What’s
the story, morning glory?” and ends them with
“Okey-dokey, artichokey,” she is not only using
rhymed clichés; she is expressing her characteristic
playfulness. Some people even use silly clichés to create others: Toodle-oo, Kangaroo; Take care, Polar Bear; Keep on Talking, Steven Hawking. When Lucas Dargan, my late father-in-law, said, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt,” the time-worn phrase nevertheless captured his thoughtful, succinct, and sparing use of words. He had made it his own.
