Skip to main content

Today's Words: Cliché, Gauche and Disparate


Cliché 

Refers to a saying or expression that has been so overused that it has become boring and unoriginal. Think about the expressions "easy as pie," or "don't play with fire," or "beauty is skin deep." These are all cliches.

A phrase or an idea that has been used so often that it no longer has much meaning and is not interesting

His article is stuffed with cliches.

 The cliche is a feature of bad journalism.

The article collapses under the sheer weight of cliches.

To use a well-worn cliche, it is packed with information.

I've learned that the cliche about life not being fair is true.




Gauche 

Unsophisticated and socially awkward.

A shy and gauche teenager

Awkward; crude

Adjective. lacking social grace, sensitivity, or acuteness; awkward; crude; tactless: Their exquisite manners always make me feel gauche.

1. We're all a bit gauche when we're young.

2. She was a rather gauche, provincial creature.

3. It would be gauche to mention the price.

4. She had grown from a gauche teenager to a self-assured young woman.

5. She knew she would be gauche and awkward

Awkward and uncomfortable with other people, especially because young and without experience:

She had grown from a gauche teenager to a self-assured young woman.


Disparate 

Fundamentally different or distinct in quality or kind

1. Chalk and cheese are disparate substances.

2. The five experiments gave quite disparate results

3. The recession has created an atmosphere where disparate groups fraternise in an atmosphere of mutual support.

4. A critical study that aims to cover such disparate forms as Anglo-Saxon poetry and the modern novel.

5. The two cultures were so utterly disparate that she found it hard to adapt from one to the other.




Review

Surveil...         surveillance 

Equanimity .. calmness

Expedient .... action 

Exigent...... ...urgent 

Obdurate...    stubborn 

Recondite... incomprehensible 

Compendious... concise 

Egregious .... extremely bad

Adjure......urge,order.

Cavil....petty objections

Importune.. harras repeatedly

Fractious.. unruly

Obfuscate..make intentionally unclear

Asperity... harshness of tone

Cliche... overused phrase

Gauche...tactless

Inputs Courtesy: ENT Specialist Doctor with 41 years of experience and preferring to remain anonymous.

Comments

  1. We use these words often. Yet we do not know the exact meaning. These have specific and concise meaning for use in appropriate context. Thanks for sharing this.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

When Punjab Chief Minister's Son Was Paraded On Underwear

Year, 1959, Place Amritsar. Some Indian Army Officers & their wives went to the Railway Station to see off one of their colleagues. Some goons made lewd remarks against the women & tried to molest them. The Army Officers chased the goons who took shelter in a nearby Cinema Theatre. The matter was reported to Commanding Officer Col Jyothi Mohan Sen. On learning about the incident, the Col ordered the Cinema Hall to be surrounded by troops. All the goons were dragged out, the leader of the goons was so heady and drunk with power; he was none other than the son of Chief Minister of Punjab, Pratap Singh Kairon, a close associate of the then PM, Jawahar Lal Nehru. All the goons were stripped to their underwear, paraded in the streets of Amritsar & later interned in the Cantonment. The next day, the Chief Minister became furious & tried to release his son from Indian Army's incarceration. Do you know what happened? His vehicle was not allowed to go into the Cantonment a...

Basavanna: Equality, Humanity and Human Rights

Bengaluru: Akshaya Trutiya is the birthday of Lord Basaveshwara or Basavanna, the 12th-century revolutionary poet and religious reformer who rebelled against all blind beliefs, practices and rituals of Hinduism. It also goes to his credit of bringing God to one’s palms while simultaneously and vehemently opposing the tradition of visiting temples and places of pilgrimages in search of the almighty. Interestingly, unfortunately, or sadly what his followers or disciples have been doing all along would be another separate topic for discussion and better to forget for the time being. A Hindu Protestant: Dr Godwin Shiri, former Director of Christian Institute For The Study Of Religion And Society (CISRS), Bengaluru, during an informal interaction, opined-“Basavanna can be aptly described as a Hindu Protestant as he was in the forefront of opposing blind beliefs”. Influenced by Buddha: Mallikarjun G Kelagade, former Director of the Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) kee...

Dharwad's Arya Durga, Rukmini and Saraswati...: From Nothing to Crores and Crores...

Bengaluru: Arya Durga Kirani Stores, with Rukmini and Saraswati outlets, are household names for all those residing in and natives of Dharwad. It was a humble and austere beginning, dating back a few decades, thanks to hard work, sincerity, and trustworthy behaviour with customers, the business flourished and grew in leaps and bounds in an unimaginable proportion. Started working at the age of eight years! The owner, late Gajanan Vitthal Shetti, was primarily from Ankola in the North Canara (Karwar) district. Ankola, a coastal town, is renowned for its Salt Satyagraha during the freedom struggle movement. The financial condition of Shetti's family was too critical, making it too difficult to meet even the basic demands of day-to-day life. He began working at a ration shop while he was only eight years of age and continued working until he became 15 years old. Mahalakshmi Hotel boomerangs: Then Gajanan Vitthal Shetti came to Hubballi to do business. He came with his father, Vitth...