Robbi Sommers Bryant

Copy Editing - Developmental Editing - Proofreading - Writing Coach

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Idoim vs Cliché

What’s an Idiom?

Broadly speaking, an idiom is a widely used phrase that, when taken as a whole, has a particular meaning that you would not be able to deduce from the meanings of the individual words. The ubiquitous greeting “How are you doing today?” is an example of an idiom. Normally, how means “in what manner” or “to what degree.” Taken literally, the question doesn’t make a lot of sense. But fluent English speakers understand the idiomatic meaning; “How are you doing today?” usually just means “hello.”

Idiom vs. Cliché

The terms idiom and cliché are often used interchangeably, especially when people talk about things you shouldn’t say. But they’re not quite the same thing. A cliché is an expression like “throw the baby out with the bathwater” or “the cat who ate the canary”—a phrase that has been repeated so often that it’s no longer effective. Clichés are like idioms in that you can’t understand the meaning of the phrase by looking at the literal meaning of each word.  See More . . .

Tone 101: How Words Can Trigger Specific Emotions

When the right tone is employed, writing can transcend the words on the page. It’s what allows writers to create complex characters, to build a world that feels real.

“Tone, to me, is like the Harry Potter house-elf of craft,” says author and sensitivity reader Dennis Norris II. “If I remember the language of something I’ve read, I am remembering the tone. It’s just there, and you’re benefiting from it. If the work was memorable, the tone played a role in it.”

Whether you’re writing a book, a tweet, or an email, emotion and tone help define the message. To help you master it, we’ve put together this guide to tone, emotion, and writing:

What is tone in writing?

Tone is the attitude your writing employs. Just like tone of voice, tone in writing gives much more context beyond the words used. It can reveal intention or conceal it. As memoirist and writing coach Adair Lara says, “Tone is what the dog hears.”

If, for example, your boss sent you a Slack message that said, “Do you have a minute to talk?” you might think, “Oh no, what’s wrong?” If she rephrased it as, “Got time to chat real quick?” you might be less alarmed. There isn’t a negative force lurking in the background. That contrast is because of tone.

And while the emotional response you take away from a message may not necessarily be the intention of the sender, it still exists, and people will seek it out when reading. “If the reader doesn’t respond the way you want them to,” says Lara, “you don’t have a reader.” See More . . .