too much of a cliche?

[dragonzo]

Working on a feature on a boys tennis coach who is being assisted by the guy he replaced. New coach mentioned how valuable the former coach is because he's much more aware of the little details of the job.
My question: is using "The devil's in the details for Coach So-and-so" too cliched?
Thanks for your help.

 

[Rich Griffis]

Yes
Quick rule of thumb: If you have to ask yourself if a phrase is too cliche', it is.

 

[dragonzo]

Thanks. Figured that was the case, but after the week I've had, I'm not too trusting of my brain right now.

 

[TyWebb]

One of my college professors once told me "If you've heard someone use it (a line, phrase, etc) before, it is probably cliche." I've tried to live by that since.

 

[Some Guy]

Never write a sentence you've read before.

 

[CentralIllinoisan]

Why not just saying what you mean?

I had a similar situations when football practice opened Wednesday. I was doing a feature spotlighting three people who work close to area programs (a versatile assistant, a parent and a booster) who all also feel the excitement of practice beginning.

The versatile assistant said he couldn't sleep the night before and said he usually hits snooze on his alarm before getting up. Instead of something cliched like "John Doe isn't usually a morning person" I went with "Early most mornings, the alarm clock mocks John Doe. Not Wednesday."

Just state something like "When it comes to the little details, John Doe has help from an unlikely place. The Podunk tennis coach ..." or something better I'm sure you can come up with.

Overall, expanding your vocabulary and looking for different ways to say something can cut down on cliches.