Avoiding cliche

"I know what I mean, but I don't know how to express it."\nShall we never be free of this pathetic and ridiculous sentence? Upon hearing it recently, I thought to myself, "Well, that helps no one." As I reflected on it at some greater distance and in greater detail, I realized that my initial reaction didn't go far enough. For when one hears this irritating sentiment so, um, irritatingly phrased, you know that whatever the person says, he hasn't really devoted enough thought to it -- and his comments should thus remain outside the realm of serious discussion. \nIt is perhaps more justified if lapsing into this stock practice is tongue-in-cheek or on some intoxicating Friday night among close friends -- as this entails being aware of one's mangling of language. However, I'm not sure most of those who do so are aware. \nIt would be a mistake to say that this is only an aesthetic criticism. Too often, people don't think about what they're saying. This is the reason why trite catchphrases actually hinder clarity. These common denominators of speech are obstacles to individual thought. I'm sorry if this will disappoint some, but I think it needs to be said that the talent of individual thinking cannot be gleaned from watching more MTV. \nThose who cannot articulate their words seem to me incapable of deciding what they mean. Words are the tools of meaning, and so when used poorly, their impact is muted. In a strange way, this clumsiness can often be entertaining for the listeners. This superficial reaction should by no means be the only one, though, because it discounts that low language also depresses the IQ of all those so unfortunate to be listening. \nFor those who believe in the vigor of language, the cliche must be resisted at all costs. One must go out of his or her way to avoid the store-bought expression. If you take up this excruciating exercise, you will observe the pervasiveness of modern language's degraded state. \nThis was the point of my column a few weeks back when I invoked George Orwell to advance the argument for working things out on one's own. A poor return for my labors, I must say.\nSo the plea of your humble correspondent for a new vernacular based on elevated speech (the kind that causes one's blood to rush a little faster) will likely fall on deaf ears and dull tongues. No matter: the degradation of language in our culture is a self-evident ill, and it hardly needs anyone's consent to gain legitimacy. Like it or not, and deny it who will, the way language is employed often spells the difference between someone who commands respect from others and someone who lacks it for himself.\nAll I have to impart, therefore, is to repair thy wit. If you choose to resist that challenge, to put it in decidedly less Shakespearean terms: Shut your yap.\nJust a thought.