Others see them as the linguistic equivalent of philosophical shrugs, an acceptance that familiar circumstances, albeit unpleasant ones, have once again arisen.
It is phrases of this type which some would call clichés. The children’s misbehaviour once again makes it necessary ‘to read the Riot Act.’ An approaching examination means that one must ‘keep one’s nose to the grindstone.’
A great many other phrases are also prompted by situations that regularly occur. Formulaic phrases such as ‘Good morning,’ ‘How do you do?’ ‘Merry Christmas,’ ‘Many happy returns of the day’ are, in one sense, hackneyed phrases or clichés which are constantly used, but it would be absurd to say that every speaker should find another way to express such ideas. Just as one word correctly describes a specific object or idea, so a particular phrase may be the correct one to use in specific circumstances. But frequency of use does not automatically create a cliché. This comment usually implies that a hackneyed phrase has been used in a lazy way, that a more original way of expressing the thought could have been found. Some people might argue that such phrases should be avoided by a careful speaker or writer because they are clichés. Most of the time we use such phrases without much thought, but there comes a time when we ask ourselves – why do we say that? Why do we ‘let the cat out of the bag,’ ‘get down to brass tacks,’ take a ‘busman’s holiday’? This book sets out to explain the origins of these and similar metaphorical phrases, showing how they have evolved through the centuries. We know that the reference is to someone who has died. If we hear that someone has ‘kicked the bucket,’ for instance, we don’t think that the person concerned has actually kicked a bucket.
There are many phrases in English which are not meant to be taken literally.
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