![]() ![]() It’s complicated as we’re currently renovating our house and staying with MIL so having gatherings and play dates at hers or on a building site isn’t really feasible. It’s really beginning to affect DD as she’s now at the age where she knows she’s missing out on seeing her friends out of school. We’ve been invited to the odd gathering but only a couple. Over the past 2 years or so it’s become apparent that a group of parents regularly get together and socialise at each other’s houses bringing the kids with them. We live in a small village and DD is 10 and has a group of friends that she has known since preschool. And the idea of a snobby group of high school girls being your typical “clique” is probably itself a “cliché”…Ī: Good point! Now, click your heels three times because it’s time to go home.Sorry boring subject but I need some advice. Q: So to recap, “clique”, “click” and “cliché” are all cousins etymologically, but mean different things. The word “stereotype” of course followed a similar path and both have slightly negative connotations today. ![]() This “worn out, overused” vibe was figuratively linked to expressions first in 1888 – although it didn’t properly take off until the 1920s. Q: So when did “cliché” start meaning “a trite expression” etc?Ī: “Cliché” evolved from the sameness that you get when reproducing prints using that metal plate. The echo sound of the block hitting metal was the stereo/click part. Q: …wait a second, that’s not related to…?Ī: It sure is! It ALSO came from a French variant of “to click”, arriving in English in the early 1800s as printer’s jargon for a “stereotype” block of type. Actually, while we’re mocking Helga, do you know the French word for “stereotype”?Ī: Haha, nice try. Helga is from Dresden and very little.Ī: Groan. Q: What about how something ‘clicks’ when you finally get it?Ī: According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, that meaning didn’t arrive until 1939 – probably when everyone ‘clicked’ that the German with the small moustache was actually not quite as nice as he was claiming. Not yet anyway!Ī: Well, it too came from that same Old French word “clique” – arriving in English around 1600 as a verb and noun – with an onomatopoeic definition relating to the sharp sound. However, no dictionary supports the noun “click” in this way. ![]() What do you think of that?Ī: It’s a nice idea, probably suggested by a psychologist. Q: I read something online that said that you can have “click” groups – they’re more inclusive, shared-interest groups versus “clique” groups, which are all about exclusion. In this case, the meaning “to click with someone” first appeared in 1915 and seems similar to a group of cool kids hanging out together. And some people simply don’t know about the more obscure one-use word like “clique”.Ī: It’s also a classic example of an “eggcorn” – a mistaken word use that endures because it seems to make sense. Q: So, is it “click” in America – you know, like they write ‘check’ versus our ‘cheque’?Ī: Oh, that’s an interesting theory, but nope – everyone uses “clique” for the same snobby select group.Ī: Well for starters, they usually sound identical (although “clique” can also be said with a “cleek” vs “click” sound). ![]() Q: The kind of bolt you use to stop people from joining your clique? It’s been in English since 1711, and as you might suspect, it’s originally from an Old French word, which meant ‘a sharp sound’ or ‘the bolt of a door’. Q: Well yes, but is it a “click” or a “clique”? I’ve seen both written.Ī: Ah right. Q: Hi AWC, you know the cool group of girls in high school that won’t let anyone else hang out with them. It’s a celebration of language, masquerading as a passive-aggressive whinge about words and weirdness. How to Build a Successful Freelance Copywriting BusinessĮach week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its rules, regulations and ridiculousness. ![]()
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