Cliche

Clichés are commonly used expressions that are seen or heard so many times they become boring and unoriginal.  You can't go wrong with a cliché, but in a profession where capturing the reader's attention is important the cliché will make them sigh and skip over it.

Example:

The New York Times February 14, 2019

Explanation:

The phrase "teetered on the brink" is a common phrase to describe something is close to happening or almost about to happen. It is most commonly used to modify a collapse or destruction of some kind. It is an overused statement and lacks originality.

Revision:

The Spanish government threatened to dissolve--deeply divided over the status of the prosperous region of Catalonia on Wednesday--stymying the passage of a national budget and almost throwing the country into another round of protracted political uncertainty. 

This statement gives the same information without the unoriginal phrase.