See how many cliches you can spot in this blog post. The current economic climate has spawned a new wave of cliches, starting with the ever-present Credit Crunch. It’s happening on Wall Street and it’s happening on Main Street. Even in Britain, new eye-rolling jargon has invaded the office, according a story this week in The Telegraph. Let me take a high altitude view of this situation and explain how we handle things at Marketplace.

We have a Cliche Wall in our newsroom that lists phrases we should avoid in our reporting. It didn’t come down from on high or anything, we just started the list and keep adding to it because we like to be original. So, we try not to say things like, “so and so is really feeling the pinch.” Or “cash-strapped states are turning to oil-rich countries for help.” Or “you’re not alone. No one knows where the bottom is.” You get the idea.

So, I’d like to run an idea up the flag pole. Could we touch base on this? Send me your suggestions and I’ll add them to the Wall. But hurry up please. Time is money.