CLICHE. In the process of stereotype printing a matrix or mould is made in papier-mache from the set type, and a solid cast ing is produced from this mould, which thus bears a surface of letters cast in relief, from which the actual prints are taken. The papier-mache mould is called a cliché.
This term, representing as it does a mould for mechanical re production, has passed into use as an effective name for any hackneyed term or phrase. The cliche is the vice of the writer who trades in second-hand thought and expression; for him the sea becomes "the rolling wave," fire "the devouring element," and the sun "the orb of day."