Is It Good to Use Idioms in Writing?

Want to use idioms in writing but aren’t sure if it’s, good, acceptable, or an egregious sin? Honestly, that’s like questioning the value of popular fiction: some say it’s trash, and others think it’s great. When it comes to idioms in writing, I’d say that it can go either way – it depends on how you use them.

It’s a motion-of-the-ocean kind of thing.

Clichés, Colloquialisms, and Idioms in Writing

IMHO, whether it’s bad or good to use idioms in writing depends on how you’re using them and what you expect to get out of them.

When It’s Bad to Use Sayings in Writing 

Or, instead of “bad,” you could think “lazy” or “boring.”

See, the downside to these sayings is that they’ve been used many, many times before. For hundreds of years even. That repetition is the main reason many teachers tell you not to use idioms. The very commonness of the sayings can make your work seem…

• Less Original: The saying does nothing to make your writing stand out.
• Cliché or Boring: This is kind of the same as the first point except more extreme. Imagine a story that’s full of idioms – what’s there to hold your attention?
• Informal: Can you think of a single saying that is formal? I can’t.

Additionally, the age of the sayings can have another effect: the original reason for the meaning has been lost. That’s why colloquialisms can be confusing to people who learned English as a second language – mainly because the sayings don’t make sense if you take them literally.

It’s the very fact that we’ve heard how they’re used repeatedly growing up that we understand what they mean. Someone who didn’t grow up with English doesn’t have that advantage.

So, as a rule, I’d recommend avoiding using idioms in…

• The Narrative or Body of Your Story:  You want the majority of the story to rely on your own voice and style. That’s a big part of what makes the story stand apart from others. So if you do use them, make it rarely (A first person story could be an exception, but you’d have to work hard to keep it from becoming clichéd.).
• A Formal Paper: Your teachers will not appreciate them. Believe me.

When It’s Good to Use Idioms in Writing

You could say, “appropriate” or “helpful” instead of “good.”

Yes, there are advantages to popular sayings. And these pros exist for many of the same reasons that the downsides do – the commonness of the sayings:

• Characterization: They’re called colloquialisms because they develop in a specific area; therefore, having someone use a local saying cements that person as someone from that area.
• Realism: People use idioms a lot. That means that throwing some appropriate sayings into speech can add realism to your story.
• Humor: Clichés or not, many of those saying are ridiculous and/or hilarious (“Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit!”). That’s why comic relief characters often use more of them than other characters do.

Ok, so they have benefits. So where should you use them? Here’s my #1 recommendation:

• Dialogue: People use sayings when they talk, and speech is almost always less formal than the rest of the story. That makes dialogue a pretty safe place to use idioms (as long as it’s in character). 

Almost any other way of working a saying into your story is going to take effort and creativity to avoid the banal / cliché issue. And if you’re going to that level of work, honestly, you can make an idiom work anywhere (just like a stereotype).

So weave some in where appropriate, work hard to use them in unique ways, or make your own. That’s up to you (which is the best part, honestly!).

-Em