Cliches

I'm reading Gary Provost's "Make Your Words Work" as a way of distancing myself from the manuscript, with the hopeful bonus of learning more about writing. The book is a pleasure to read and the exercises can be damned entertaining.

One exercise was to think of cliche replacements. Like these:

He could sell a fridge to an Eskimo.
He could sell leather boots to a vegan.
He could sell a flamethrower to a fireman.
He could sell a pentagram to a nun.

Sly as a fox.
Sly as a kid with brussel sprouts in his pockets.
Sly as a student with porn in a classroom.
Sly as Stallone.

Behind the eight ball.
Naked at a spelling bee.
Feet behind the head.
Linda Blair in the Exorcist.

Out from the frying pan into the fire.
After the queue come the forms.
In prison: out of the showers and into the toilets.
Out from under the bulldozer, into the morgue.

He left no stone unturned.
He left no email unread.
He checked inside every box of cereal.
He lifted every veil in the harem.

I'm sure y'all can do better.