Definition
老生常谈 is a four-character idiom (chengyu) that literally means 'old scholar's oft-repeated talk'. It refers to a platitude or cliché — a statement or topic that has been repeated so often it has lost its impact. You use it to criticize writing or speech that is unoriginal and boring, often as a noun phrase (e.g., 都是老生常谈 'all are clichés').
f.e.
a platitudea cliché
Examples
- 老生常谈，。Tā de huà dōu shì lǎo shēng cháng tán, méi shénme xīnyì.His words are all clichés, nothing new.
- 老生常谈，。Zhè piān wénzhāng de guāndiǎn dōu shì lǎo shēng cháng tán, méiyǒu shēndù.The viewpoints in this article are all platitudes, no depth.
- 老生常谈，。Bié zài shuō zhèxiē lǎo shēng cháng tán le, shuō diǎn xīnxiān de.Don't talk about these clichés anymore, say something fresh.
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