A number of "language" matters that students of English as a second language need to learn about are not treated in textbooks at all. Many of these are partly linguistic in nature and partly non-linguistic, involving other aspects of culture. One such matter is the cliche. For the native speaker of any language, a cliche is an expression which has lost its original freshness and force through repeated use and familiarity. The native speaker does not need to "learn" cliches or practice using them. The student learning a foreign language, however, should seek to master cliches just as he seeks to master the structural patterns and vocabulary of the language--learning the commonly used forms and everyday expressions before he attempts to go on to more exceptional usages. Presented here is a fill-in-the-blank exercise in word association with samples of pairs with "and" ("husband and wife"); pairs with "or" ("same or different"); triplets with "and" ("red, white, and blue"); similes with "as" ("blind as a bat"); and similes with "like" ("growls like a bear"). (AMM)