Ann Parker here, every-other-Thursday at The LadyKillers. Well, I was really looking forward to writing this post about clichés, but the impending storm back East blew all that right out of the water. (Two clichés for you, right there.)
Still, I shall soldier on with a few quick comments on clichés. First, I love them, and employ them with great and joyful abandon in my drafts. My critique partners and my editor strike them out, which is a good thing, because I find it difficult to kill these particular darlings.
Second, a cliche "now" may not have been one "back then" (which gives me a bit of an out, since I write historicals set in 1880s). Finally, I believe that I absorbed many of the sayings and clichés that my mother and grandparents used, which sound "old-timey" to me, but unfortunately, are not quite old enough. I've had to turn down many a phrase that didn't come into use until the 1920s. For instance: "We've been framed!" is from the 1920s (alas!), according to the Online Etymological Dictionary. To keep myself from going too far astray, I use The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms (Christine Ammer), the two volumes of Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang (J.E. Lighter), plus all kinds of online sources, such as the aforementioned Online Etymological Dictionary.
I see I'm sliding down that slippery slope from cliches to slang, so I think I'll stop.
Meanwhile, here's a little cartoon from the Punch Almanack for 1885, that pokes gentle fun at some clichéd expressions which were overused in the popular literature of the time. Enjoy!
Thinking of all you East-Coasters, who have Mother Nature bearing down upon you... batten down your hatches, hang on tight, and here's hoping that it will all simply blow over...
What wonderful sketches from Punch and a nice list of resource material.
Posted by: Liz | August 25, 2011 at 06:03 AM
Hi Liz! I have even *more* resources, but decided to limited to a favorite few. :-) Another way to get a handle on the idioms of the era is to read the newspapers and popular literature from the timeframe. I love the Punch cartoon as well! I'm just surprised that with "eyes downcast" there aren't eyeballs rolling along the floor...
Posted by: Ann | August 25, 2011 at 09:57 AM
Love the Punch cartoon! Not just cliches but amusing visual puns as well.
Posted by: Margaret Lucke | August 25, 2011 at 10:06 AM
Hi Margaret! Fun, and very clever. :-)
Posted by: Ann | August 25, 2011 at 10:12 AM
Ann, You are a resource-full writer! I admire all of you who write historical mysteries. So easy to put a foot wrong, er, to come unglued, um- oh damn. I'm snarled in cliches!
Posted by: Susan C Shea | August 25, 2011 at 11:21 AM
HA! Susan, I know what you mean: "snarled in cliches." In fact, I should have that made up into a t-shirt to wear! I like it! :-}
Posted by: Ann | August 25, 2011 at 12:15 PM
Love the cartoon! I didn't know there was funny stuff back then.
Posted by: Camille Minichino | August 25, 2011 at 03:10 PM
I'm now afraid to write "flung" or "tossed" now :)
Thanks Ann!
Posted by: Mysti | August 25, 2011 at 03:15 PM
Hi Camille: Plenty of funny stuff back then. Mark Twain, political cartoons of all stripes... and apparently plenty of popular literature! :-)
Posted by: Ann | August 25, 2011 at 04:28 PM
Hi Mysti:
Yep, same for me, as well as "she disappeared through the door..."
I just realized looking at the cartoon: There's a Volume 1 and a Volume 3, but I'm not seeing a Volume 2 (? maybe it *also* disappeared through the door!).
Posted by: Ann | August 25, 2011 at 04:30 PM
I know I would be able to follow the tech manuals you write, Mysti.
Posted by: Camille Minichino | August 25, 2011 at 06:13 PM