But by that time it has become a standard part of the average person's speaking pattern, and its general meaning can be conveyed in casual conversation even when it is misquoted or used inappropriately. Clich s are remarkably resilient, and can survive considerable mangling. You can even mutilate one so badly that it means exactly the opposite of what is intended, and still masquerade as a brilliant conversationalist in some circles. The intended meaning of even a butchered clich comes through simply because it is so tiresomely familiar. But, boring and even irksome though they may be, clich s do have their uses.
Some people are, through no fault of their own, severely lacking in verbal skills.
For them clich is an essential crutch. Many people seem to use clich in a misguided attempt to appear fashionable, clever and witty, apparently not realizing that the use of trite expressions whose bloom has faded has quite the opposite effect. The numbing effect of clich is used to advantage by propagandists, who sometimes cleverly misquote familiar truisms or use them inappropriately, distorting the meanings thereof in order to support their own arguments. They rely upon the tiresome familiarity of clich to cause complacent and gullible listeners to ignore a subtle but crucial alteration in the meaning of a familiar-sounding phrase, in order to gain acceptance of their ideas. Expressing one's own thoughts presumes that one has thoughts to express.