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Thomas_Anderson Posted 17 years ago
Vocabulary

"The cliché fell into disuse" ???

"It used to be a platitude of Western—and Marxist—analysis of China that wrenching economic change would
demand political reform. Yet China’s economy boomed with little sign of any serious political liberalisation to
match the economic free-for-all. The cliché fell into disuse. Indeed, many, even in democratic bastions such as
India, began to fall for the Chinese Communist Party’s argument that dictatorship was good for growth,
whereas Indian democracy was a luxury paid for by the poor, in the indefinite extension of their poverty."

This excerpt is from The Economist December 13th, 2008 issue.

I am confused in this sentence "The cliché fell into disuse".

From the dictionary

cliche = an idea or phrase that has been used so much that it is not effective or does not have any meaning any longer
disuse = a situation in which sth is no longer being used

So what I understand is that cliche and disuse means the same thing.
But then what this "The cliché fell into disuse" will mean?

Please help me with it.
  

Top answer

Hi, Cliches are often uttered, even if they are not very useful or meaningful. But if a cliche falls into disuse, it means people stop using it. The implication here is that people thought this particular cliche no longer contained any truth at all.

  • Hi, Cliches are often uttered, even if they are not very useful or meaningful.
  • But if a cliche falls into disuse, it means people stop using it.
  • The implication here is that people thought this particular cliche no longer contained any truth at all.
  • Best wishes, Clive
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2 Answers
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Hi,

Cliches are often uttered, even if they are not very useful or meaningful. But if a cliche falls into disuse, it means people stop using it.

The implication here is that people thought this particular cliche no longer contained any truth at all.

Best wishes, Clive
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Thanks a lot Clive.
Now I got it.

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