From 0ecb59f48fd2bce6ba0f62cf532fd9b013a259cc Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Craig Jennings Date: Fri, 22 May 2026 18:17:45 -0500 Subject: docs(skills): expand voice's cliche-flag watch list MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Added more clichés to pattern #29 (keep it loose, touch base, circle up, hit the ground running, move the needle, on the same page, no-brainer, win-win, and others) and a note that a casual or conversational register isn't a license to keep one — cut it there too. Prompted by "keep it loose" slipping through as "acceptable casual," which is exactly the miss the note guards against. --- voice/SKILL.md | 4 ++-- 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-) (limited to 'voice') diff --git a/voice/SKILL.md b/voice/SKILL.md index a2f7fbc..9de3d71 100644 --- a/voice/SKILL.md +++ b/voice/SKILL.md @@ -401,9 +401,9 @@ These six patterns extend the AI-detection patterns above with canonical good-wr ### 29. Cliché Flag -**Words to watch:** at the end of the day, moving forward, going forward, at this juncture, circle back, low-hanging fruit, deep dive, leverage (as verb), synergy, take it offline, ducks in a row, boil the ocean, pivot (corporate sense). +**Words to watch:** at the end of the day, moving forward, going forward, at this juncture, circle back, low-hanging fruit, deep dive, leverage (as verb), synergy, take it offline, ducks in a row, boil the ocean, pivot (corporate sense), keep it loose, keep it casual, touch base, circle up, hit the ground running, move the needle, on the same page, no-brainer, win-win. -**Problem:** Clichés signal effortful prose without saying anything specific. Replace with the actual meaning. +**Problem:** Clichés signal effortful prose without saying anything specific. Replace with the actual meaning. A casual, friendly, or conversational register is *not* a license to keep a cliché — cut it there too. If you catch yourself justifying one as "it's fine, it's casual," that's the tell; replace it with the plain meaning. (Craig, 2026-05-22: "keep it loose" slipped through as "acceptable casual" — exactly the miss this note prevents.) **Before:** > At the end of the day, we need to leverage our core competencies and circle back on the low-hanging fruit. -- cgit v1.2.3