Up the creek without a paddle. When you are into a situation that you can't get yourself out of, and the future looks grim.. — Submitted by Zeke Berzoff-Cohen of Northampton, MA, U.S.A.

Smooth as a baby's Bottom. Very smooth, physically or metaphorically.. — Submitted anonymously

You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Being nice will get you what you want. — Submitted by Jeff Hess of Huntington Beach, CA, USA

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Apple of my Eye. — Submitted anonymously

Many clichés are adages, which are short sayings of advice or wisdom. Although they can be useful for making points, most of them are unimaginative, and some are corny. Some adages are also figures of speech.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Going for more when you already have something valuable is senseless. Although this adage is worn out, it carries more wisdom than most clichés. The one bird in our hands can fly away while we're trying to get the two that we covet.

After the storm, it comes the calm. Controversies and conflicts can settle down, allowing people to resolve them reationally. Another verion is "After the calm comes the storm," which means that calm periods should not be taken for granted and enjoyed forever. — Submitted anonymously.

Appearances may be deceiving. Everyone says it all the time, especially middle aged women. — Submitted by Jenna Green of Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.

Apple doesn't fall far from the tree. — Submitted by Bob of Brookaven, P.A., U.S.A.

Can't get blood out of a turnip (or stone). Trying to get an advantage or revenge from something that cannot provide it is a wasteful effort.

Can't polish a turd. Putting a glimmer on something inherently nasty is impossible. — Submitted by Daniel of Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Do the right thing, and the right thing happens. It is a cliché, adage, etc. because it is true and it is wise. — Submitted by Susan Tarney of Laguna Hills, California, USA.

Don't burn your bridges. Sage advice offered in this adage. It simply means to not leave ill will behind in case you need to go back someday or need the person or people you're leaving behind. Actually, there's no advantage to offending or angering people and plenty at risk.

Don't count your chickens before they're hatched. Assuming that you have something before you actually have it is folly.

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Accepting the gifts we receive and being grateful for them without expecting or asking for more is a gracious and safe practice. Being ungrateful or asking for more is socially and professionally hazardous. This adage is often heard when a person asks for a bonus or perks after receiving a promotion with a pay raise. But the adage is definitely stale and corny.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket. If you ever had a basket in which to put eggs, this phrase would make sense, because it the basket were to be dropped, all the eggs would break and you wouldn't have any good ones left. For us urban people, it's an admonition to diversity.

Early bird gets the worm. If you're looking for worms to eat or go fishing with, well, this would be all right. But if you're a business person or a sales person, look for customers instead of worms.

Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. This old adage has no basis in fact. It is often used against people who like to retire late and/or have difficulty rising. The truth is that X hours of sleep make the difference, and X differs for each person.

Every cloud has a silver lining. This saying is truly figurative, because no clouds have linings, silver or otherwise. The intent is to show that even undesirable things can have desirable aspects.

Go with the flow. Going along with what other people are doing or with the organization's culture is the easiest way of life, but it can risk accepting mediocrity as a standard.

If it isn't broken, don't fix it. This adage is tired but applicable to a lot of people. Its point is that when things are going well they should be left alone. Okay so far, but too many people use this adage as an excuse for doing nothing, and too many people don't know whether things are broken and need fixing. Avoid using this adage as an excuse for inaction.

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Sometimes fighting brings more fighting instead of victory. In these cases, conceding is more advantageous.

Ignorance is bliss. This applies to the geniuses who send us asinine messages through our grammar page— Submitted by the TopSkills editors. defending their bad grammar.

Jack of all trades and a master of none. Dabbling in a lot of areas and skills leaves us marginally adept in all of them and not good at anything in particular. Although there might be some advantages to being good at a lot of things, the most successful people are usually excellent at a few things.

Keep your nose to the grindstone. This motivational cliché is odd when you think about it. The objective is to motivate people into staying focused on their goals and working their tasks through. But the idea of literally putting your nose to a grindstone is so awful that this metaphor seems more demotivating than motivating.

Keep your shoulder to the wheel. This means to keep working diligently until the project or task is complete, regardless of any obstacles or impediments. Another stale and corny cliché.

Look out for number one. The identity of "number one" is key to the meaning of this phrase. If it's oneself, then this phrase is quite self-centered, selfish and egotistic. Number one in any company should always be the customer. Satisfy the customers, and the business will thrive. Satisfy oneself, and disaster awaits.

Nothing ventured nothing gained. Good advice for the timid and unmotivated. We get little in life by waiting for it to come to us, and it's usually worth what we invested in getting it. Persuing goals can bring favorable results. The true failures are those who don't try to succeed.

Penny saved is a penny earned. The point of this adage is that saving money you have is as good as earning money you don't have. Actually, a penny saved is a penny saved and a penny earned is a penny earned. Saving and earning are two very different activities. Earning requires some sort of output for compensation. Saving requires the self-discipline of not spending it. But the wisdom behind this adage is sound.

Put lipstick on the pig. Similar to "Bow on a pig". Same meaning. — Submitted by Dave B of Carlsbad, CA, USA

Think Outside the box. "If I hear 'let's think out of the box' one more time," writes Linda Cole of Covina, California, "I'm going to gag." This is one of those clichés whose meaning everyone is expected to know. Generally, inside-the-box thinking is supposedly narrow, shortsighted and unimaginative, while outside-the-box thinking is broader, visionary, innovative.

To each his own. Every person has a right to be different, but some people must comment on that difference in a disparaging manner. When they see or hear of somebody behaving in a manner they misunderstand or dislike, they sigh "to each his own." Obviously, this adage can be derogatory.

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink it. "You can offer someone something that is going to help them, but you can't make them take it." — Submitted by Charles Halliday of London, England.

What goes around comes around. This adage is often used when somebody does something unkind to other people. The theory is that whatever you do to others will eventually happen to you. — Submitted by Gabriel of New York, New York, USA.

When life gives you lemons make lemonade. Good advice for the downtrodden. Life does give us some lemons, and we can usually find some lessons or benefits if we look for them. Moping over the lemons is pointless.

When the going gets tough the tough get going. This motivational cliché plays to our self-esteem. The objective is to motivate people who feel overwhelmed by challenges by making them feel tough or weak, depending on their choices.

Many clichés are figures of speech, such as metaphors and similes.

Adrenaline Junkie. I've seen it used in way too many news stories. It's lazy, it's dull and it makes the writers sound like they're trying way too hard to be hip. — Submitted by Justin of Scottsdale, Arizona, USA.

Blind leading the blind. This politically incorrect cliché means that someone who knows as little or even less than someone else is actually trying to show the other what to do. Unfortunately, it's a common condition in life. This cliché is now considered inappropriate, because saying anything unkind about anybody with any handicap is considered inappropriate.

A bow on a pig. This saying refers to using accouterments to make something that isn't nice appear nice. It's similar to "frosting on the cake," but a bit snide or cynical. — Submitted by Daniel of Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Apples and Oranges. I've heard it numerous times for as long as I can remember. — Submitted by Nicole Murasso of Ringgold, Georgia, USA.

Bull in a china shop. A metaphor for a clumsy policy, procedure or person in a delicate situation. It works, even though it's unimaginative.

Cattle to the slaughterhouse. People who follow leaders wherever those leaders take them are allowing a level of trust that invites disaster. Some people will blindly follow leaders to places and ends that are harmful to them without exercising any control over their destinies.

Dead as a doornail. This alliteration (words with beginning with similar sounds) was coined by Charles Dickens looking for an alliteration for death and seeing a doornail that qualified. Being an inanimate object, the doornail was of course dead, so saying has often been criticized as being a mixed metaphor. Its alliterative qualities has made this cliché a staple in American speech, however.

Fish out of water. People who are in environments that are incompatible with their skills, personalities or other qualities are usually clumsy, and they often fail. This is why it's so important for our success that we find an area or vocation we are naturally good at and work there rather than trying to succeed in environments that are hostile to us.

Get the lead out [of your pants]. Sluggish people are said to have in their pants lead that slows them down or keeps them from moving. This derogatory phrase is often used for motivating these people, but it's demeaning nature has the long-term effect of demotivating people.

Give an inch, and they take a mile. Some people take as much as they can from others, some people are always testing the limits of what they can get, and others are constantly pushing the line farther and farther until they get resistance. When we give these people anything, they almost always try to get more.

One foot in the grave. Means something is half dead or on its way toward death. Can apply to people, organizations, companies, departments, teams and ideas. — Submitted anonymously.

Out of the woods. This tired metaphor means "It's not over yet," and "we're not free of the hazard yet." Television newscasters and weather forecasters use it to the point of annoyance.

Playing with fire. Being something that can be dangerous when uncontrolled, fire is nothing to play with. Whenever people are dabbling in things that can get out of control easily and that can cause a lot of damage when uncontrolled, like fire, they are said to be playing with fire.

Running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Some people dash and dart all around the office as though in perpetual panic. They not only agitate everyone around them, they look foolish and out of control. This metaphor makes the point well enough, but like other clichés, it's been overused.

Sharp as a butter knife. This cliché compares a quick reaction but then goes downhill when saying "soft like a butter knife." This cliché can tell how a person is not that smart or isn't quick enough to do things. — Submitted by Amanda of Algona, Iowa, USA.

Speaking with forked tongue. A person who speaks one thing while meaning another is saying two things at the same time. Of course, nobody literally has a forked tongue, so this cliché is a metaphor.

Shooting for the moon. The moon is out of reach to nearly everyone and within reach of only people with lots of money and resources, i.e. a great government. So anybody who is seen to be seeking something they cannot have or that will take more resources than the result is worth are said to be shooting for the moon.

Water off a duck's back. Sometimes things aren't that serious or important and you should just learn to let the little things go. — Submitted by J. J. Arroyo of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

We'll jump that fence when we get to it. A common excuse for not planning, and that's all this cliché is good for.

We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Same as the preceding cliché.

Whole nine yards. Here's a cliché with little real meaning. It may have made some sense at some time, but now there is nothing that is whole or complete because it has nine yards.

Some clichés are simply phrases.

At the end of the day. This phrase is used tirelessly in political discussions to emphasize points and dismiss all others. It means that after all is said and people are ending their day by going bed, a stated point is all that matters. But few political debates are over at the end of any given day, so this phrase is literally meaningless.

Bottom line. The last or bottom line of a balance sheet shows the net worth at the designated time, and the last or bottom line of a profit/loss statement shows the profit or the loss for the designated period. Because these lines are often considered the most important on those respective statements, this phrase is frequently used for emphasizing the most important point in an argument or discussion. The problem is twofold: First, the bottom line is important but not more important than the other data; and second, this phrase is so overused and misused that it is plainly boring.

Dressed to the nines. The phrase to the nines is an informal saying that means "to the highest degree," according to Dictionary.Com. So "dressed to the nines" would mean dressed to the highest degree. What's wrong with "dressed to the nines?" In addition to being a silly cliché, its meaning is unclear to most people who use and read or hear it. What's wrong with "dressed to the highest degree?" Nothing, except that it doesn't sound as impressive as "dressed to the nines."

For all intents and purposes. In addition to being worn out, this phrase is also redundant, because it says the same thing twice.

In the red (black). In accounting, red ink is used for designating negative values and black is used for designating positive values. When a business is losing money, especially when its net worth is less than zero because its liabilities exceed its assets, the accountants use red ink to show the negative condition. Accordingly, this cliché is often applied to

It's six of one and half a dozen of another. Given that a half dozen is six, this phrase is used for showing that the only difference between two conditions, options or arguments is semantic, that is, the form of expression rather than the substance.

Money to burn. People who have more money than they can manage prudently are said to have money enough to throw away without missing any. The condition might be nice, but the phrase is tired.

The check's in the mail. Most people in small business have heard from a creditor more than once that the payment is in the mail, only to find that once the payment does arrive, it is postmarked after the creditor said it was in the mail, making the lie obvious. But being an obvious lie doesn't seem to bother people, because this one is told countless times with no shame at all. So the cliché regards lies that are told unabashedly with no regard for being caught and exposed as a liar.

Until the cows come home. Cows graze around their pastures and never come back to the house; therefore, waiting until the cows come home would be waiting forever. — Submitted anonymously.

Without further adieu. This phrase from Shakespeare has no usefulness other than to be cute or artistic, because nobody says "adieu" otherwise.

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