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Stock phrase

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A repeated, conventional phrase used as filler or tradition in verse

Detailed Definition
Stock phrase is a conventionalized expression or formulaic utterance—such as “rosy-fingered dawn” in Homer or “once upon a time” in fairy tales—that recurs across poetic traditions to signal genre, establish rhythm, or convey cultural shorthand; while sometimes criticized as cliché, stock phrases in oral-formulaic poetry (like Anglo-Saxon or Homeric epic) serve mnemonic and stylistic functions, and modern poets may repurpose them ironically or nostalgically to comment on tradition, as in Seamus Heaney’s allusions to Beowulf.
Example
Example in poetry:
Stock phrase in epic: “rosy-fingered dawn”; In blues: “woke up this morning”; In spirituals: “swing low, sweet chariot”; Contemporary: “thoughts and prayers” as ironic stock phrase; Student example: “back in my day” as stock phrase in generational poem; Another: “fake news” as modern stock phrase in political verse.
Additional Notes
Stock phrase is a formulaic expression from oral or literary tradition (e.g., “rosy-fingered dawn”). Related to fixed expression and traditional phrasing. Serves mnemonic function—note how repetition creates rhythm and cultural continuity in performance.
Also Known As
Cliché phrase Formula phrase Standard expression Well-worn phrase Formulaic Cliché
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