- sacrificial lamb: cliché (avoid)
- sadder but wiser: cliché (avoid)
- said: not made a statement (wordiness) [She said; he said. Not: She made a statement; he made a statement.]
- said: not was of the opinion (wordiness) [He said; she said. Not: He was of the opinion; she was of the opinion.]
- said: not stated (pompous)[She said he said. Not: She sated; he stated.]
- said: not uttered (pompous)
- salad days: cliché (avoid)
- same: not one and the same (redundancy) [Samuel Clemmens and Mark Twain were the same man. Not: Samuel Clemmens and Mark Twain were one and the same man.]
- same: not same ilk(redundancy) [ilk means "same]
- sanitary landfill: replace with dump (pompous)
- sapling: not little sapling (redundancy) [The sapling was off to a good start. Not: The little sapling was off to a good start.]
- SASE envelope: delete invelope to avoid SASA (stammped self-address envelope) envelope (redundancy)
- SAT test: delete test to avoid SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) test (redundancy)
- saving for a rainy day: cliché (avoid)
- saw: not was witness to (wordiness) [She saw what happened. Not: She was witness to what happened.]
- scathing sarcasm: cliché (avoid)
- scraping the bottom of the barrel: cliché (avoid)
- scribe as synonym for writer: cliché; this is overblown writing in the vein of a drowning person screaming "assistance! assistance!" instead of "help."
- SCSI interface: delete interface to avoid SCSI (small computer system interface) interface (redundancy)
- sea of faces: cliché (avoid)
- seat of learning: cliché (avoid)
- second to none: cliché (avoid)
- seething mass of humanity: cliché (avoid)
- seize the initiative: cliché (avoid)
- select few: cliché (avoid)
- self-confessed: delete self-confessed (redundancy) [She confessed to the crime. Not: She was the self-confessed criminal.]
- selling like hotcakes: cliché (avoid)
- sent shock waves: cliché (avoid)
- separate and distinct: delete and distinct (redundancy) [The twins had separate personalities. Not: The twins had separate and distinct personalities.]
- separate and distinct: delete separate and (redundancy) [The twins had distinct personalities. Not: The twins had separate and distinct personalities.]
- separate entity: delete entity (redundancy) [Each was an entity. Not: Each was a separate entity.]
- separate: not separate apart (redundancy) [The brawlers were separated. Not: The brawlers were separated apart.]
- serious danger: delete serious (redundancy) [The Titanic was in danger. Not: The Titanic was in serious danger.]
- service with a smile: cliché (avoid)
- settlement: not final settlement (redundancy) [They had a settlement; Not: They had a final settlement.]
- settle old scores: cliché (avoid)
- shadow of one's former self: cliché (avoid)
- shady character: cliché (avoid)
- share in common: delete in common (redundancy) [They shared several traits; Not: They shared several traits in common.]
- shattering effect: cliché (avoid)
- shift into high gear: cliché (avoid)
- shoot in the foot: cliché (avoid)
- shot across the bow: cliché (avoid)
- shot in the arm: cliché (avoid)
- show: not draw the attention of . . . to (wordiness) [He will show us how to do it correctly. Not: He will draw our attention to how to do it correctly.]
- show who's boss: cliché (avoid)
- show true colors: cliché (avoid)
- shuttle back and forth: delete back and forth (redundancy) [The soccer mom will shuttle the youngsters. Not: The soccer mom will shuttle the youngsters back and forth.]
- sickening thud: cliché (avoid)
- side of the ledger: cliché (avoid)
- sigh of relief: cliché (avoid)
- sign of the times: cliché (avoid)
- sign on the dotted line: cliché (avoid)
- silence broken only by: cliché (avoid)
- silence is golden: cliché (avoid)
- silhouetted against the sky: cliché (avoid)
- simple life: cliché (avoid)
- sink: not sink down (redundancy) [Crossing the mud means we will sink. Not: Crossing the mud means we will sink down.]
- skating on thin ice: cliché (avoid)
- skeleton in the closet: cliché (avoid)
- skirt: not skirt around (redundancy) [I expect him to skirt the important issues. Not: I expect him to skirt around the important issues.]
- sky's the limit: cliché (avoid)
- slap in the face: cliché (avoid)
- sleep like a baby: cliché (avoid)
- sleep of the just: cliché (avoid)
- slip through the fingers: cliché (avoid)
- slippery as an eel: cliché (avoid)
- sigh of relief: cliché (avoid)
- sly humor: cliché (avoid)
- small speck: delete small (redundancy) [The surface was marred by a speck. Not: The surface was marred by a small speck.]
- smart alec: cliché (avoid)
- smoking gun: cliché (avoid)
- snake oil: cliché (avoid)
- so as a result: delete as a result (redundancy) [I finished on time so we could meet the deadline. Not: I finished on time so as a result we could meet the deadline.]
- social amenities: cliché (avoid)
- so far, so good: cliché (avoid)
- solid as a rock: cliché (avoid)
- some: not percentage of (wordiness) [Some of the audience did not applaud. Not: A percentage of the audience did not applaud.]
- soon: not at an early date (wordiness) [We expect to complete the project soon. Not: We expect to complete the project at an early date.]
- sordid details: cliché (avoid)
- source: not original source (redundancy) [The source of the Nile was not verified until satellite photos were studied. Not: The original source of the Nile was not verified until satellite photos were studied.]
- sparked controversy: cliché (avoid)
- sparse, not sparsely scattered (wordiness) [The stand of trees was sparse. Not: The stand of trees was sparsely scattered.]
- speaking with forked tongue: cliché (avoid)
- specimen of humanity: cliché (avoid)
- spectacular event: cliché (avoid)
- spiral out of control: cliché (avoid)
- spirited debate: cliché (avoid)
- spring in one's step: cliché (avoid)
- squeaky clean: cliché (avoid)
- squeaky wheel gets the oil: cliché (avoid)
- stand on ceremony: cliché (avoid)
- statuesque figure: cliché (avoid)
- steaming jungle: cliché (avoid)
- step down (for resign): cliché (avoid)
- step up (efforts): cliché (avoid)
- stick out like a sore thumb: cliché (avoid)
- stick to one’s guns: cliché (avoid)
- still persist: delete still (redundancy) [Rumors persist. Not: Rumors still persist.]
- still pending: delete still (redundancy) [The proposal is pending. Not: The proposal is still pending.]
- stop: not call a halt to (wordiness) [We need to stop them from tearing down the historic building. Not: We need to call a halt to their tearing down the historic building.]
- straight arrow: cliché (avoid)
- straight and narrow: cliché (avoid)
- straight as a die: cliché (avoid)
- straight from the horse's mouth: cliché (avoid)
- strait [or straight] and narrow path: cliché (avoid)
- strangled to death: delete to death (redundancy) [The victim had been strangled. Not: The victim had been strangled to death.]
- strife torn: cliché (avoid)
- strike while the iron is hot: cliché (avoid)
- strings attached: cliché (avoid)
- sublime to the ridiculous: cliché (avoid)
- suburbs: not suburban area (wordiness) [They moved to the suburbs. Not: They moved to the suburban area.]
- successful achievement: delete successful (redundancy) [Getting straight-A's was an achievement. Not: Getting straight-A's was a successful achievement.]
- succumbed to injuries, change to: died (wordiness) [The passenger died. Not: The passenger succumbed to injuries.]
- such is life: cliché (avoid)
- sudden explosion: delete sudden (redundancy) [A flash signaled the explosion. Not: A flash signaled the sudden explosion.]
- sum and substance: cliché (avoid)
- sunny South: cliché (avoid)
- sunset in the west: delete in the west (redundancy) [It was a beautiful sunset. Not: It was a beautiful sunset in the west.]
- superhuman effort: cliché (avoid)
- superior: not more superior (redundancy) [We found the hardwood pencils to be superior. Not: We found the hardwood pencils to be more superior.]
- supreme sacrifice: cliché (avoid)
- surprise: not unexpected surprise (redundancy) [It was a surprise party. Not: It was an unexpected surprise party.]
- surrounding circumstances: delete surrounding (redundancy) [The circumstances were suspicious. Not: The surrounding circumstances were suspicious.]
- sweat like a pig: cliché (avoid) [Besides, pigs don't sweat.]
- sweat of his brow: cliché (avoid)
- sweeping changes: cliché (avoid)
- sweep it under the carpet: cliché (avoid)
- sweet sixteen: cliché (avoid)
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