Photo: © AP via AAP/TIM KOORS

Journalist Chris Pash trawled through nine years of reports to uncover the trade's most repetitive phrases.

His study looked at both the journalists' own words and the quotes they use, leading him to heap some of the blame for the phrase's all-too-regular appearances on journalists' regular sparring partners – politicians.

"They use it almost as punctuation," Pash told The Australian.

"I stick to the proposition that in reporting you should try to stay away from cliches ... but I know how hard it is to stay cliche-free.

"And some cliches are quite descriptive.

"I get more annoyed by corporate speak because it is not descriptive and often is designed to hide the real meaning.

"'Downsizing' is just another way of saying someone's been sacked."