We are awash, inundated, flooded, drowning in — clichés.

Yes, clichés.

We can rely, just about year-round, on sports scribes and announcers to rain cliches upon us, in deluges at times. Such is the parlance of their realm.

Yet, during political seasons (which now seem almost non-stop) the use of clichés — hackneyed phrases, triteisms — is ubiquitous and constant. We are bombarded with such language. The pols and those in the media who cover the candidates and their surrogates seem, at times, to communicate in mostly political-speak at every opportunity.

Let me bring before you, discerning readers, just a sampling of such cringe-inducing (to some of us) language. I’m sure you can think of other examples as well.

Here we go:

At the end of the day. Resonate. Up for grabs. Head-to-head. Escalate. Take a listen.

Going forward. Establishment lane. On the ground. Push back. Blow back. Grow the economy. Firewall. Double down.

Pulling out all the stops. Down to the wire. Early on. Run the table. Close the deal. Back-to-back. Fighting for you. Problematic.

Impact. Narrative. Matchup. That’s huge. The pathway forward.

These are some examples of such trend-speak. Not all, but just ones that come readily to mind.

Those being interviewed invariably begin with “well.” (Remember Ronald Reagan?)

What does one hear most coming out of the mouths of media (TV) commentators? The answer may surprise you, but if you listen for it after reading this you will probably be a bit amazed at how often you hear “ah” and “ahm.”

Some will utter this multiple times in a single sentence when they are speaking off-script.

So, Mr. Language Person, what purpose does being aware of all this serve?

Not much of anything. Its value is less than Vice President John Nance Garner’s “… not worth a bucket of warm spit.” (When he commented about his office.)

Let me admit, my inclination to end this piece with a tongue-in-cheek cliché is a bit hard to resist.

However, if I had given in to the urge, I would probably have begun the final sentence with (you guessed it): “At the end of the day … ”

And so it goes.

Note — By the way, those of you who will be voting in the Republican primary would be well advised to remember that Arthur Williams has withdrawn from the NC House race, although his name will appear on the ballot. Knowing this could be important for Beaufort and nearby counties.