We should avoid clichés like the plague. At the end of the day, those things are as dead as a doornail. Think outside the box, take the tiger by the tail, and shoot from the hip—with your own, unique words. Do it before your goose is cooked.
Similes, metaphors, and analogies are wonderful writing devices, but they need to be your original expressions, not something people have heard before.
This year, a widely used cliché is “at the end of the day,” which replaced the old cliché, “when it’s all said and done.” Keep noticing words and phrases that people use repeatedly, and let them bother you a bit. Then you’ll naturally drop them from your writing.
Maybe you have a cliché in mind and can think of no other wording that will say what you want. Keep it for your first draft, but mark it so you can come back and find better words.
