Why You Need to Stop Using Common Expressions

Have you touched a duck before? Have the majority of people touched ducks before? 

No. 

Then why do we say “get your ducks in a row” so often? If no one has touched a duck before, then how would they know what it’s like put ducks in a row? 

When we write, it’s tempting to use common expressions like this because they’re shorthand for what we’re really trying to say. People know you probably mean “get organized” or “create a plan” when you say “get your ducks in a row.” In fact, they’re likely not even imaging ducks when you say that. 

The key to vivid writing is creating pictures in the minds of your audience: the more relevant, the better. When I say “put your pencils in a row” or “put your pans in a row” you just imagined pencils and pans. And if you’re a student or a chef, these expressions might mean something. 

Common expressions rob our audience of the metaphors and comparisons that could really mean something to them. For people who raise ducks for a living, this phrase might mean something. For the rest of us, use a different phrase.