Thought-terminating cliché
A thought-terminating cliché (also known as a "semantic stop-signs," "thought-stoppers" or "cliché thinking") is language intended to stop an argument from proceeding further, in other words "end the debate with a cliche... not a point."
General examples
- "It is what it is." - Adds no value to any debate, its intent is to disengage.
- "Lies of the devil." - Used as a response to any fact that threatens the integrity of an individual/group.
- "Stop thinking so much." - A literal request to stop any debate.
- “It’s all good.” - In the event that the situation is not in fact in a good state, yet you want people to stop analysing it, say this.
- "Here we go again." - Implies that the topic has been debated about too frequently and is never going to reach a conclusion, so you may as well stop the debate.
Politically correct examples
Many politically correct words and phrase are often examples, often intended to summarily stop further factual debate on the issue: Nazi, homophobia, conspiracy theory, and so on.
