At a recent celebratory screening of the original King Kong,* I heard a television voiceover star and sometime game-show presenter give a speech composed entirely of cliches.
I'm not saying the concept was cliched, or his speech contained many cliches. I'm saying that that was all that was in it. They came out one after the other like rubber bullets from a crowd-numbing machine gun, with nothing in between.
It got me wondering if I could create something from cliches. The great thing about cliches -- their real advantage -- is that like horoscopes, they can (within a certain range) be construed to mean almost anything you like. Or I like. (The corollary being, of course, that they say absolutely nothing.) Can I do it? Can I make a para from cliches? Here goes.
The important thing to remember, on this of all days, is that nothing lasts forever: this, too, will pass. And in its wake, our hearts will go out to those who stood by us in our darkest hour, who defended our honour and stood firm in the face of adversity. In the meantime, let's give no quarter, roll with the punches, and take the cake. Lest we forget: there's no time like the present to seize the day.
Well, it's not a whole speech, but it's something. Actually, the main problem was remembering them (second only to risking tautology). Maybe what we need is a reference, Collection Of Cliches ... or to expose ourselves to more commercial television.
*Having seen the original King Kong, one struggles to imagine a screening that could be otherwise. The thing is a celebration in itself!
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