A game of two halves
Adam Hurrey asks, on behalf of BBC Ideas and The Open University: why is football so full of cliches?
Therein he briefly explores their background and use, and more artful foreign alternatives, as well as their value as a conversation-leveller.
What he doesn't mention is that most fans and commentators fall back on cliches because they're meatheads. As such, they can't think of any more sophisticated way of communicating, or filling the gaps between meaningful observations.