Clichés, upon their inception, are probably striking and thought-provoking. Word gets around. That’s how they become clichés! And because of them, you need never be at a loss for words.

When It’s Time to Calm Down:

• Don’t get your knickers in a twist
• Cool your jets
• Dial it back a notch
• Get a grip (on yourself)
• Keep your hair/hat on
• Beside oneself

Energized:

• Pumped up
• A shot in the arm
• High on life
• Raring to go
• Chomping at the bit
• Full of fizz

Shame:

• Has his tail between his legs
• Hang his head
• Can’t look herself in the mirror

Pride:

• Proud as a peacock
• Pride goes before a fall
• Big fish in a small pond

Don’t Be Fooled/Naive:

• All that glitters is not gold
• Don’t buy a pig in a poke
• You can’t judge a book by its cover
• Always read the fine print

Group Solidarity:

• All for one and one for all
• Get with the program
• A chain is only as strong as its weakest link
• Close ranks
• All hands on deck

Shy or Speechless:

• Cat got your tongue
• A closed mouth gathers no feet
• Tongue tied

Outgoing/Confident:

• Life of the party
• Belle of the ball
• Could hold a conversation with a stump

Fast:

• At the speed of light
• Time flies
• In a jiffy
• Back in a sec
• Take off like a bat out of hell
• Before you could say Jack Robinson

Slow:

• At a snail’s pace
• Dragging one’s feet
• Slow but sure
• Moving as slow as molasses in January

Pay Attention to the Unspoken:

• Read between the lines
• Read the room
• Pick up on the vibes

Having Fun:

• Having the time of one’s life
• Without a care in the world
• Kicking back
• Party down
• In hog heaven
• As happy as a clam

Bad Mood:

• Got up on the wrong side of the bed
• Face like a stormcloud
• All bent out of shape

When It’s Bad:

• A fate worse than death
• Have to reach up to touch bottom
• Up a creek without a paddle
• If I didn’t have bad luck, I wouldn’t have any luck at all
• Behind the eight (8) ball

Rich:

• Rich as Croesus
• More money than sense
• Money to burn
• On Easy Street
• Puttin’ on the Ritz
• Top drawer
• To the manor born
• Blue blood
• Born with a silver spoon in his mouth

Poor:

• No two nickels to rub together
• Poor as church mice
• Barely keeping body and soul together

When All Perceived Choices are Bad (What Psychologists Call an Avoidance-Avoidance Conflict):

• Between a rock and a hard place
• A lose-lose proposition
• Between the devil and the deep blue sea

When Something has Both Positive and Negative Aspects (What Psychologists Call an Approach-Avoidance Conflict):

• Take the bitter with the sweet
• Every cloud has a silver lining
• Two sides to the coin

Old:

• Old as dirt
• Long in the tooth
• Of advanced years
• Old as Methuselah
• Classmates with a caveman
• With Noah on the ark
• Old as the hills
• Bloom is off the rose
• On the far side of (arbitrary year)

Young:

• Babe in arms
• A babe in the woods
• Younger than springtime
• Wet behind the ears

Ugly:

• Ugly as sin
• A face only a mother could love
• A face that would crack mirrors
• S/he’s been hit with an ugly stick
• Ugly as a hat full of holes

Beautiful:

• Pretty is as pretty does
• Show-stopping beauty
• Breathtaking beauty
• Adonis
• Greek god(dess)
• A face that could launch a thousand ships
• Blonde bombshell
• Drop-dead gorgeous
• As fine as frog’s hair
• Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
• Beauty is only skin deep
• Built like a brick sh#thouse

Frightened:

• Scared to death
• Scared out of my wits
• Heart-stopping fear
• Causing gray hair

Cowardly:

• Lily-livered
• Scared of one’s own shadow
• Spineless
• Cold feet
• Yellow through and through

Brave:

• Lion hearted
• Nerves of steel
• Stand your ground

Stupid:

• Dumb as a stump
• Not the brightest crayon in the box
• Was behind the door when brains were being handed out
• Dumb as a sack of hammers
• Not playing with a full deck
• If s/he had another half a brain, it would be lonely
• Not burdened with an overabundance of smarts
• Twice as strong as an ox and half as smart
• A few fries short of a happy meal

Smart:

• Sharp as a tack
• Head stuffed full of brains
• An Einstein

Optimism:

• Time heals all wounds
• When life gives you lemons, make lemonade
• Don’t cry over spilled milk
• A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step
• Always look on the bright side

Pessimism:

• Chicken Little
• Black Cloud
• The glass is always half empty

Difficult:

• An uphill battle
• Rowing against the current

Easy:

• Low-hanging fruit
• Easy as pie
• Walk in the park
• Piece of cake
• Like taking candy from a baby
• Walk-over

Clumsy:

• Two left feet
• All thumbs
• Made of knees and elbows
• Able to trip over air
• Graceful as a hog on ice

When the Outcome is Obvious:

• The writing’s on the wall
• It’s all over but the shouting
• As plain as the nose on your face
• A foregone conclusion

Planning/Strategy:

• Play your cards right
• Measure twice, cut once
• Look before you leap
• Better safe than sorry
• Bring it to the table
• A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
• A good beginning makes a good ending
• Strike while the iron is hot
• An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
• A stitch in time saves nine
• Hedge one’s bets

Surprise:

• A bolt from the blue
• Gobsmacked

Ending Conflict:

• Kiss and make up
• Declare victory and go home
• Bury the hatchet

Envy:

• Green with envy
• Channeling the green-eyed monster
• The grass is always greener

Love:

• Opposites attract
• Love at first sight
• Love you to the moon and back
• Head over heels in love
• Love conquers all
• All is fair in love and war
• A faint heart never wins fair lady
• Love you more than life itself
• Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all
• Absence makes the heart grow fonder
• Out of sight, out of mind

Patience:

• Time will tell
• Haste makes waste
• A watched pot never boils
• All in due time

Pregnancy:

• A bun in the oven
• In the family way
• Knocked up
• A shotgun wedding
• Big as a house
• Big as the broad side of a barn
• Biological clock is ticking

Sterility:

• Shooting blanks
• No little swimmers

Sober:

• Sober as a judge
• On the wagon
• Always the designated driver
• Teetotaler

Drunk:

• Smashed
• High
• Plastered
• Shellacked
• The morning after the night before
• The hair of the dog that bit you
• Drunk as a skunk
• Three sheets to the wind
• Full of liquid courage
• Cork high and bottle deep

These are just a few examples. You can find hundreds online, should you want to!

Bottom Line: What was once a fresh way of looking at something has become weak, losing its novelty or figurative and artistic power—but clichés are still useful!