Cliche is an over used common expression. The term is derived from a French word for a stereotype printing block. Just as many identical copies can be made from such a block, so cliches are typically words and phrases used so frequently that they become stale and ineffective. The Prentice Hall Reader pg. 628

Everyone uses cliches in speech: "in less than no time" "they spring to mind", but when taking "one last look," a writer ought to "avoid them like the plague," even though they always seem "to hit the nail on the head." Rewrite the above tip for formal writing without using cliches.

Sample Themes From Gatsby: Cliche Themes: Money is the root of all evil. Money can't buy you happiness. Literary analysis of theme within a thesis statement: Though F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is a timeless work of fiction, the novel shows how unbridled materialism destroyed the American Dream in the Jazz Age. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses hyperbole to comment on how the excesses of American materialism destroyed the American Dream. The theme is the underlined portion of each thesis statement.

Another sample money theme... Wealth without a worthy purpose or a viable heritage is ultimately self-destructive. What minor often overlooked character is an example of this?

Answer: Dan Cody, the source of Gatsby's singularly appropraite education. Having obtained infinite and instant wealth, Cody makes the move from west to east, like all characters in the novel. Unlike Gatsby he has no purpose for his money, so he devotes his life to moral denegration and endless drifting on his yacht.