There's a perception that cliches are lazy But hear us out on this: sometimes these phrases are comforting Clichés are about as useful as lipstick on a pig.

More than 70 readers nominated cliches and asked me to publicize them to death. 'Twould be a pleasure (and, alas, an impossibility -- the vaunted power of the press isn't quite that muscular).

Do you hear what we hear? It’s The Times’s annual reminder to avoid overused holiday phrases.