familiar phrase
Commonly used saying
A familiar phrase is an expression widely known and readily recognized within a language community—a saying, idiom, or quotation that speakers encounter often enough to recall easily.
The familiarity may come from everyday speech, literature, or cultural tradition: To use a familiar phrase, it's not over till it's over.
Writers sometimes invoke familiar phrases self-consciously, aware that the expression borders on cliché.
- sayingShort, wise expression
- idiomFixed phrase, opaque meaning
- expressionConveyed thought or feeling
- figure of speechNonliteral expressive phrase
- clichéOverused, unoriginal expression
old chestnut · catchphrase · proverb · motto · slogan · adage · household · household name · well-known · common · common knowledge · word of mouth · ring · tongue · everyday · maxim · colloquial · parlance
- clichescliche, platitude, bromide, trite saying, old chestnut
- language termsgrammar, word, vocabulary, syntax, synonym
familiar, phrase, familiarity, familiarize, familiarized, familiarizing, familiarization, unfamiliar, familiarly