With few exceptions, the phrases should be familiar to you, i.e., you should know their meaning.  If you need a definition, origin, usage, author, or source, then use any of the many search engine available on the web.

Clicking on an underline or lighter type links to additional information. 

The Message Board is for questions, comments, suggestions and announcements.

Warning!  PHRASES ARE LIKE SNACKS . . . ONCE YOU START, IT'S HARD TO STOP.  BON APPÉTIT 

Registration allows you greater access to the Library of Phrases. The registration information is general and can't identify you or allow you to be contacted.  The information only allows us to know the group(s) who use a phrase (everyone, card players, bicyclists, government workers etc.).   

Your reward for registering is additional access to the Library through advanced search capabilities. Your registration will be for the life of the web site unless you ask to cancel.

Registration is essential to meet the goals of fraze.info. So far, very few visitors have registered (Visits vs. Participants).  Although most entries (additions) will be duplicates, this information is invaluable if the Library of Phrases is to be a major language reference.  Duplicates indicate the frequency of use, the characteristics of the users, and the ebb and flows of our language.  For more reasons, click registration information.
 

The Library of Phrases is all the entries in www.fraze.info.  Each of us carries in our mind a personal list of familiar word combinations (phrases) and every day we file new ones away.  Even if we don't say, write, or hear them again, we occasionally retrieve them and rarely forget them.  The catchy ones (catch phrases) are what you will find in phrase books. But books can only hold so many entries and are neither comprehensive nor current. The data base in our brain is current and holds thousands of phrases, which overlap the phrases that others have in their heads but are never the identical list.  Our personal lists aren't comprehensive and our brains can't be plugged into a computer and downloaded (yet).  Fraze.info will overcome these limitations if a large number of individuals enter the phrases they know.  It will only succeed if you participate.  When the goal is reached, fraze.info can be used as a source for regional phrases and as a template for similar lists in other languages. This site won't attract a large portion of the population, like YouTube (R) or MySpace (R), and therefore, it won't be purchased for $1.65 billion.  On the other hand, it's free, anyone can participate, and the goal is both entertaining and educational.  What more could you ask for?

Choose the right word

A keyword is any word that is used in this Library of Phrases. In addition to words, there are:

A "phrase" in time saves nine

A phrase is any combination of words that quickly comes to mind when listening, reading, writing, thinking or dreaming.  By this definition, it can be as few as two words (e.g., as is) or an entire nursery rhyme (Twinkle twinkle little star.... ). It can even be a proper name, like Frank Sinatra or Elton John, as long as that name triggers images or sounds that we share. 

To include or not to include, that is the question?

We use the KISS rule, "Keep It Simple Stupid"  in deciding to include a word combination.

•  It must be two words or more;
•  You shouldn't need to look it up to type it in;
•  It pops into your mind or pops out from the page, and
•  Almost no one would be offended by hearing it in public.

These guidelines allow you to add almost any familiar phrase. When you search and find a phrase that seems too common, like "good morning" or "as is",  and shake your head in puzzlement --  Ask not why it's there; Ask what phrase is missing, and enter it.  

For most of the 100,000+ phrases in this Library, you should be able to say, “I’ve heard that before.”   

To illustrate how phrases enter our language we need only consider sports clichés.  They are foisted upon us by sports addicts who unknowingly incorporate them into their everyday conversation and the rest of society must learn them or be way out in left field.  In the distant past, the same thing happened with gambling cliches (ace up the sleeve) and movie cliches (Play it again Sam).  There have always been phrases created or popularized by the media, from medieval troubadors to blogers.   

Although a phrase may only be used in your region, town, or group -- add it anyway. Eventually, there will be separate collections for regions, generations, vocations, avocations, and other groups, because fisherman, computer geeks, card players, and MTV viewers all have their common phrases that aren't familiar to the rest of us.  It is well-known that the South and Northeast United States are rife with robust expressions.  Some of these have worked their way into  our national American-English linguistic legacy, others have stayed put in their region, and others have come and gone  in a flash.  The new ones may be lost forever, unless you enter them while they are fresh in your mind before they fall out of favor.

When is a Phrase a Cliché?

Although fraze.info isn't intended to be a collection limited to clichés, here is our definition of a cliché.  

Cliché: The first phrase that comes to mind for most of us when we express the same thought.

"I know this is a cliché, but ... .”    

You can find a random sample of clichés in fraze.info by clicking Search > go to the right margin and click Creme de la Creme. Each time you click Creme de la Creme you will get another random list of phrases with the number of times each one has been entered into www.fraze.info. 

If we try to avoid a cliché by trying to think of an alternative, there is usually a long pause punctuated with an "ahhhhhh" or worse, deadly silence combined with a blank stare. To avoid these uncomfortable moments, we mentally shrug our shoulders and use the cliché anyway. 

On the other hand, there are those rare individuals who avoid clichés like the plague. These individuals are often viewed as putting on airs and thumbing their noses at the rest of us because we don't have their literary skill and don't have unusual expressions on the tip of our tongue.  

Faze.info is an excellent source of clichés and alternatives, but it won't help you during a conversation.  So try a Missouri Compromise by using clichés when speaking, but when writing, find alternative phrases in fraze.info. 

Anything Goes?  No Way Jose.

Most entries will be duplicates of items already in the Library of Phrases. All other additions are placed in "Quarantine" pending a daily review to determine if they are familiar and not offensive. Entries that pass the test are added to the Library of Phrases, as "New".  Here are the general guidelines for acceptance and rejection.

Don't heitate to enter a phrase that you think might be politically incorrect or socially unacceptable. For example, a phrase that might have been in this category but has become acceptable is: "she doesn't have the balls to . . . " B Walters.  Baba Wawa said this in a prime time interview.  To see what might be unacceptable, go to SEARCH, enter the questionable keyword, and if it doesn't produce a phrase, you might think twice about adding it.  Don’t be upset or offended if your phrase remains in quarantine for a long time or forever. Ultimately, the intent is to have an objective review of the phrases. Initially, this will be accomplished by a super majority decision of a representative group of volunteer editors. Eventually, the decision will be made automatically by a Cliché Test, that will take into account a wide spectrum of use across geographic and generational boundaries.  

A topic describes a group of phrases.  For example, phrases with the following keywords are under the topic "female".

woman, women, mother, mothers, mom, mama, mommies, girl, girls, lady, ladies, maiden, maid, her, she, mare, cow, hen, feminine, miss, ms, mrs  etc.  There will also be phrases about these topics that do not contain the keyword. For example, the Shakespeare sonnet, "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day, thou are more lovely and more temperate? "  The sonnet is about a female so it would come under this topic  as well as other topics, such as poetry, weather, seasons, love etc.

Many topics don't have associated keywords and therefore can't be easily "searched" by the computer.  Some examples are:  jokes, sarcasm, advice, salutations, nonsense.  To classify phrases for these topics requires a smart knowledgable person.   At least there are still some things a computer can't do.

Because the Topic section is so labor intensive, it's still in its infancy.  To fill the 100 existing topics with phrases will require thousands of hours of classifying.  Hopefully, there will be many participants so each will only have to classify a few phrases. 

The list of topics is far from comprehensive and will be gradually increased. Feel free to put your topic suggestions on the Message Board and include a couple of examples. 

Topics are listed in two ways: by an abbreviation code  and by the topic.  For example,  ZOO / Wild Animals. If you get good at classifying, the abbreviations will be helpful.

England and America are two countries divided by a common language " G B Shaw

American English (AE) and British English (BE) have almost identical words but sometimes:

•  usage or definitions differ:  AE - elevator vs. BE - lift; and

•  spelling differs:  AE - color vs. BE - colour. 

With respect to phrases, the differences are far greater. There are:

•  completely different phrases with the same meaning e.g., AE - just asking for it vs. BE - put the cat among the pigeons; and

•  close but not quite phrases, e.g., AE - nine-tenths of the law vs. BE - nine points of the law. 

The person who compiles something as large as the Library of Phrases might be viewed as a sort of expert, but that doesn't make it so.  Experts are actually people who are recognized and respected as "Authorities" by others who work in the same field.

"Authenticity" means it is true, while "Accurate" means it is correct (without errors). These subjects come under the general title, Certification. 

Dictionaries are references that focus on the meaning and origin of words and some phrases. There are specialized dictionaries limited to certain types of phrases or sentences, e.g. quotations, slang, idioms.  The Internet is now a source of phrase lists, both specific and general, but they aren't necessarily authoritative or even dictionaries.  Fraze.info doesn't pretend to be authoritative and certainly isn't a dictionary.  However, it is hoped that it may eventually reach a high state of accuracy and authenticity and be considered authoritative. This will only happen when thousands of individuals, from many walks of life, enter the phrases they use everyday.  Only then will be we know who uses what phrases and how often e.g., a  poll of language use.  Until then, the Library of Phrases will only be a very large list of phrases mostly compiled by one person -- MOI.

A filter is being developed to determine which new phrases should be add to the permanent Library of Phrases.  It is called the Cliché Test and is described in greater detail below.  Until there are enough entries from a wide range of individuals, the inclusion or exclusion of a phrase will be determined by the compiler or a group of representative volunteer editors.

Most new phrases originate as street talk or from commerce.  The only familiar phrases that can be certified as authentic are called quotations from written material in which the author has coined a phrase. These instances are few and far between because most authors use expressions that their readers recognize immediately. Even phrases ascribed to individuals in Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, yes, even the Bard’s, are often re-wordings of old sayings or merely the first written record of a common expression.

Short of an authenticated quotation, there are attributions.  These are phrases that someone has said that someone else said, without an original written source being available for verification.  For example, it was a biographer of Patrick Henry who said that he said "Give me liberty or give me death", but there is no contemporaneous record of it from the meeting where Mr. Henry was supposed to have said it, nor was there even a written account by an ear witness, e.g., a newspaper article by a reporter.  That doesn't mean Mr. Henry didn't say it, and then someone at the meeting told someone else who told . . .  .   Nevertheless, we were all taught that Patrick Henry said it, which is how things become common knowledge.

Finally, there are numerous individuals, including authors and performers, who are associated with a phrase when it is known for a fact that they weren't the original source.  For many of us, these are the individuals we associate with the phrase and we have no idea who the person was who coined the phrase. This is particularly true of song lyrics and lines from radio, films, and television.  Especially in the case of song lyrics, it is possible to find the unknown author but it is the singer with whom we associate the phrase.

The name(s) and titles that follow the quotation mark make no distinction between original creator (quotes), attributions (indirect quotes) and mere associations.

Therefore, fraze.info shouldn't be used as a reference for authenticity of phrases. Fraze.info is merely passing on what has been a common understanding or second hand information. Every effort is made to check other sources on search engines and links. If you have evidence that confirms that the reference is incorrect, put it on the Message Board for our editors to review and we will make the appropriate revision. 

What's one man's meat is another man's poison

What is acceptable to each individual is a matter of upbringing, experience, circumstance and social pressure or lack thereof.  Nonetheless, fraze.info is open to the public without charge or obligation so we have decided to accept the unwritten rules for verbal decorum in public places.  Participants will have to accept that there are word combinations that are common knowledge but excluded from the Library of Phrases.  If someone else had developed this site, some of the excluded phrases might have been included.  They are probably found elsewhere on the web. Those who like a "clean" site will applaud and those who like an uncensored and comprehensive site will boo.  That's America and who would have it any other way?

(Under Construction) 

Unless your Quarantined phrase is sent to the Junk Pile, there is only one hurdle to jump for entry into the Library of Phrases. Each phrase has to be more than something you or your friends know and use.  It must pass through the geographic, frequency, and generation screens, which comprise the Cliché Test (under construction). 

The United States and its Territories will be divided into geographic areas based on general language differences. (If there is someone reading this who has expertise in regional language differences, your help would be appreciated in making these selections). From the registration form, we know the birth decade, location, and type of community where participants have lived as children and at present; work/leisure activities; and possibly gender.  For a phrase to be accepted in the Library of Phrases, it must be entered by a given number of participants in each of these categories. 

FYI: The French and Arabic languages, and perhaps others, have a group of appointed scholars who decide which new word or phrase may enter their language. For the English language, these decisions are made by editorial committees established by private publishers. TA new word or phrase may be found in one reference but not another. The Cliché Test promises a more scientific approach and it may eventually be a resource for those editorial committees when they decide which new phrases to include in their next edition.  It will hopefully represent current usage across a wide range of the population over a known period of time. This can only happen if a large and varied group of you participate. So, Tell a friend and start entering phrases.  

Volunteer Editors are needed.

Fraze.info provides a number of options for manipulating the phrase list and adding to it.  These include search (retrieving), add, classifying (categorizing), and preparing specialized reports.  

The Search option works like any search engine except it is limited to the Library of Phrases and doesn't correct spelling. The simplest level is a random search that retrieves a limited number of phrases in a random order, like the sample on the Welcome Page. A random search has many advantages, primarily the serendipity of adjoining phrases and the variety of phrases that contain the same word.  A random list of a few phrases makes our brain synapses create a fascinating and personal train of thought that is not dissimilar to a dream. 

Advanced levels of searching give you the option of retrieving phrases in difference sequences (alphabetic, order of entry) or within a defined limit (frequency of entry or by number of words).  This benefit is a reward for enough Access Points through participation or for being among the first 1000 registrants.  

Adding phrases is a major objective of fraze.info.  This is the only way the data base will be expanded and we will learn who says what.

When you reach the Senior Associate level you can add phrases in batches under Add+ (under construction).

Seeing one phrase may cause you to want to find phrases with similar content; either with a word in the same category (red > color) or with the same content or intent (advice, joke, salutation, nursery rhyme).  Although the Topic section is ready for action, only a few topics contain a large number of phrases, a few have none, and all are incomplete.  To fill them will require hours of classifying by volunteers.  Hopefully, everyone will do a few and before long they will be almost, but never, complete. 

This option provides a table based on parameters set by you. For example, you might want to find phrases that begin or end with a particular word or has a word imbeded in another word to help prepare a puzzle (e.g. and / sand). To have access to this option you must be a Senior Associate.

Registered participants can gain access to six options, of which these three come automatically with registration:

• Add as many phrases as you like, including duplicates.
• Search for up to 20 random phrases by keyword(s)
• Classify phrases according to a wide variety of topics.

There are three levels of participation: Participant, Associate, and Senior Associate.  A specific number of Access Points are required to reach each level.  The present point system is shown below, but it can be changed according to needs of fraze.info.  Once attained, the number of points acquired and level of participation reached cannot be lost, as long as you comply with the terms and conditions.  Fraze.info was launched on November 3, 2005 and hasn't been highly placed by the search engines, so you need to spread the word.  The best time to register is now because early adopters will receive automatic promotion to Senior Associate.  You have everything to gain and nothing to lose so get in while the gettins good.

Roles have been identified that are needed to help manage and improve the web site's access options, ease of use, security, and the underlying database of phrases. In return for volunteering, you will receive significantly more Access Points and the pride of equity in fraze.info. The roles include editing phrases, management of the topics' section, maintaining language decorum, supervision of other volunteers, and being a trustee. Some of these activities will require partial access to the content of the data base, where you will be entrusted with decision that result in awarding points to other participants. Although these volunteer activities are unpaid, the responsibility and the skill requirements are extremely high.

• Reviews phrases and applies the rules for accuracy, spelling, grammar, and "near" duplication.
• Makes “thumbs up or thumbs down decisions on phrase classifications. 
• Identifies quarantine phrases to consider for acceptance or the Junk Pile.

Assigns and supports the volunteers so that high standards are maintained and volunteers retained.  Our privacy and security policies limit our knowledge of volunteers to their interface with fraze.info.  However, fraze.info subject matter doesn't lend itself to moral or ethical lightweights and in the final analysis, actions speak louder than words.

A volunteer who can be trusted to give candid advice on how to make www.fraze.info enjoyable, user friendly and comprehensive. Advice must be given without being asked and with the knowledge that it may not be used.

My Profile contains the information you provided when you registered  Registrants frequently minimize the information they enter in order to maintain their privacy or because they are anxious to get started.  After you have visited fraze.info a number of times, it is hoped that you will click My_Profile and complete or update it.  Presently, it would appear that most of our participants come from Alabama (the first State on the list) and never moved away.  This will certainly invalidate the information on who is adding phrases. where they originate, and how they are disseminated.

So, please, update your Profile. Please note that there are two items on your residential location, the first being where you were during your childhood (ages approx. 5-10) and the second where you are now.  It is also important to put as many work descriptors and avocations as possible so we can eventually identify where phrases originate and are being used.

Give a good account of yourself

MY ACCOUNT shows your current Access Points, Phrase Status, Security Information  and Site Activity.

Access Point  are shown by type of phrase entries, number of classifications with subtotals and totals. At a specified number of Access Points, you will be promoted to the next participation level (Roles).  Each level provides increased access (Permissions) to the Library of Phrases and to fraze.info functions. 

Security Information lists your Role(s) and access permissions. 

Site Information lists your registration date, number of visits and the total login time.

The Message Board is the medium

The Message Board is intended to maximize participation, discussion and improvement of www.fraze.info  while at the same time maintaining your privacy by avoiding direct person to person contacts. We will reviewed it daily and we recommend that you do the same. (Volunteers Needed).

There are three forums:

 1) Fraze.info Announcements,

 2) Library of Phrases Content,

 3) Web Site Functions

The Message Board is limited to discussion about phrases and the www.fraze.info web site. Unemotional opinions, constructive criticism, and positive suggestions are encouraged with these caveats:                  

The Message Board is adapted from an open source created by phpBB Group 2001-2005.

The Library of Phrases is not the only phrase list on the Internet but it is the most comprehensive.  The more people who participate, the more authentic, authoritative, accurate, and comprehensive it will be. With over one hundred thousand phrases in the Library, there is a "ninety-nine and forty-four one hundreds percent" chance that two hundred thousand is a real possibility and 500,000 is not out of the question.

Fraze.info is the portal to the Library of Phrases.  Although it is up and running, there are a number of improvements still in the works.  The greatest improvement will come from your active participation. There is a temptation to pay for a prominent position on the search engines so whenever someone puts in PHRASE or CATCHPHRASE or IDIOM or CLICHÉ or SAYINGS or ADAGE or FAMILIAR EXPRESSION, they will see fraze.info on the first page and best of all, Numero Uno.  This approach has been rejected for a more natural one by which we will identify the early adopters, how they found us, and how quickly or slowly the use increases. This is the same kind of information we hope to be able to develop for new phrases that enter our language by your adding them to the Library of Phrases.

As the use increases, participants will have needs that we haven't anticipated or were too costly for the initial program. Hopefully, these needs can be fulfilled at a low cost or with a small no strings attached grant. 

This section gives information on how to navigate fraze.info and use its functions.

To navigate fraze.info use either Click with the mouse or press the Enter key. 

TABS   At the top of the page are red tabs separate by white lines which take you to the basic pages:

On the Welcome/Home page you will find these tabs:

• Welcome/Home
• Q & A - Questions and Answers
• New User - Registration 

There are tabs at the bottom of the Welcome/Home page giving important general information.

• About us
• Contact us
• Terms & Conditions of Use
• Policies
• Disclosures & Disclaimers

Once you are a Registered Participant, three additional tabs will appear at the top of the page:

• Search
• Add
• Classify

Additional tabs will appear when you have sufficient Access Points for promotion to more advanced levels of participation:

• Search+
• Add+
• Reports

On specific pages there are tabs/buttons/bars on the right or left sides of a page or within the page:

• On the "Q&A" page, the Table of Contents bar is along the left margin.  It will open up if you touch it. Then lock it in place by clicking the vertical toggle pin, which will turn horizontal. It will return automatically if you don't lock or use it.

• On the "Add" page there is a "Show/Hide" toggle button to either show or hide the last five phrases you have entered.

• The "Classify" page has a bar on the right margin to open the list of topics. This also has a lock pin.

• Most tabs will depress when they are activated.

• Activity will be demonstrated by the hour glass - time symbol

• Speed depends on your ISP and type of connection (dial-up, DSL, cable, broadband).

LINKS  

As with most web sites, there are words or sentences that you can click with the mouse, pointer or hand, to linked to another part of the text or to another web site. These will either be a lighter print, underlined, or both.

PROBLEMS

If you are having difficulties, you can either send your question to query@fraze.info  or ask for help on the Message Board.

PHRASE STATUS

FIRST ENTRIES

COLOR    CODE

ACCESS  POINTS

DUPLICATE     ENTRIES

COLOR CODE

ACCESS POINTS

New

PINK

50

new

PURPLE

4

Exempt

GREEN

5

exempt

ORANGE

2

Quarantine

YELLOW

1

quarantine

BROWN

1

Junk

RED

-51

junk

0

If you get in on the ground floor, the odds are good that you will enter many exempt phrases and some new ones. 

1. EXEMPT PHRASE  - This phrase is the first entry of a phrase that exactly matches a phrase entered by the site developer.  It will be automatically accepted without further review.  At present, its a good bet (109,864  to 1) that you will enter an exempt phrase. 

2. QUARANTINE PHRASES - This phrase has never been entered exactly as you typed it.  Quarantine phrases are reviewed before being accepted into the Library of phrases. Types of quarantine phrases are: 

a.  Near Duplicate - This phrase has the same meaning and virtually the same words as a phrase already in the Library. Just one extra space or one letter added/omitted (misspellings) has kept it from being a duplicate. These phrases will be recategorized as duplicates and the color code will change from yellow  to  green, purple, orange, or brown, as the case may be.    

b.  Familiar – This phrase is familiar to a majority of American-English speakers, but isn't among the 100,000+ already in the Library.  When it passes the Cliché Test, the color code will change to pink.  If you are the first person to enter it, you will be awarded 50 Access Points and your login name will be permanently attached to it.  

c.  Unfamiliar - This phrase is not familiar to a most American-English speakers even though it may be familiar to you, your friends or a well-defined geographic area, profession or avocation.  It may have recently emerged from the media, grapevine, or 'the street'.  You never know; it might sweep the nation (catch on). Examples of phrases that were unknown one day and a couple of days later were the the talk of the town.

  DONT WORRY BE HAPPY

  MOTHER OF ALL BATTLES

  BEEN THERE DONE THAT      

An unfamiliar phrase will remain in quarantine until it passes the Cliché Test.     

EXAMPLE:  WHALE TAIL        MUFFIN TOP                                                       

d.  Junk - A phrase that the site managers feel is unsuitable (see below). 

a.  orange - A duplicate of an EXEMPT Phrase, which is automatically accepted.

b.  purple -   A duplicate of a NEW phrase, which is automatically accepted.

c.  brown - A duplicate of a QUARANTINE phrase. If and when, the original entry is accepted as a NEW phrase, then this duplicate entry will become a purple duplicate of a NEW phrase.

d. black - a duplicate of a JUNK phrase.

The following guidelines are intended to simplify the entry of phrases and reduce the number of "near duplicates."

BACKGROUND: In English, as in most languages, there as many as 20 variations of the same phrase. The following guidelines were developed during the period in which the first 100,000 phrases were entered. You may have already started adding phrases without reading the guidelines and have used the learn by doing method proposed by the American educatore, John Dewey. At the very least, you should know that all commas, periods and apostrophes will be automatically deleted so you can skip them or continue to use them. Suit yourself. Hyphens will also be deleted but the space will be retained.  Proceed as you would normally and don't give it another thought.

For those who like to know before starting, these are the detailed and hopefully intuitive guidelines. Once learned, they will be second nature and make adding phrases easier.

All phrases that are not exact duplicates of a previously accepted phrase will automatically go into quarantine and must pa