stock phrase
1
3.3
- noun
- /stɑk freɪz/
:
frase hecha
- I, I, I'd have to use like stock phrases from like Yeats poems or something in order to describe Montana accurately.
Examples
-
In the process, I began picking up a set of stock phrases.
Academic text (1998) -
The best way to handle a premature discussion of money issues is to have a few stock phrases tucked away in your back pocket.
Blog text (10) -
It is merely the memorization of a stock phrase, with no further inquiry.
Academic text (1998) -
But sometimes even just resorting to the stock phrases and nothing else, and not answering in-game chat, might be seen as doucheness, and it might well be, but it might also be the effect of a language-impaired player.
Blog text (13) -
Those execrable but harmless colorizations just need to excuse themselves unilaterally with a peremptory stock phrase, the verbal equivalent of a contemptuous shrug: "Original in Black and White."
Blog text (28) -
His speech was filled with clichéd ideas and stock phrases that failed to engage the audience.
-
When I asked about his vacation, he replied with a few stock phrases that didn't tell me much.
-
Teachers often use stock phrases like 'think outside the box' to encourage creativity in students.
Synonyms
201
1.7
A short well-known phrase that gives advice or a general truth
173
4.6
An overused phrase or idea that no longer seems original
28
2.8
A short traditional phrase that gives advice or a general truth
5
6.4
A short memorable saying that gives common advice
4
7.9
A story or joke people tell so often that it becomes boring
4
7.7
A common saying many people repeat that gives simple advice
How Clicheded
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a commonly used, clichéd expression' is directly derivable from combining 'stock' (conventional, formulaic) with 'phrase' (a group of words). This adjectival-noun composition is compositional and cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would likely infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Stock phrase comes from stock meaning a ready supply and phrase meaning a short group of words. Imagine words on a shelf that writers and actors take when they need them; because these lines were used again and again, a stock phrase now means a saying that is 'overused' or very common.