老调 (lǎo diào) — hackneyed theme, platitude

Definition

老调 (lǎo diào) is a written/literary term for an old, overused tune — a hackneyed theme or cliché. It typically appears in fixed expressions like 老调重弹 ('rehashing the same old tune').

noun

hackneyed themeplatitude

Examples

老调，。
Tā shuō de nà xiē huà dōu shì lǎo diào, méi shén me xīn yì.
Everything he said was just a platitude, nothing new.
，。
Zhè piān lùn wén bú guò shì lǎo diào chóng tán, méi yǒu rèn hé xīn guān diǎn.
This paper is just rehashing old clichés without any new ideas.
老调。
Bié zǒng ná nà xiē lǎo diào lái hù nòng tīng zhòng le.
Stop fooling the audience with those old platitudes.

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