The excitement gripping London during the Olympics is only surpassed by the number of historic moments each day.

Major news outlets have been increasingly using historic, now running at about 200 times daily, as the Olympics get more gripping, up to 40 times each news cycle.

“Even the fury about empty seats is proof of the enthusiasm that almost immediately gripped the nation,” (The Independent, August 6).

“The boxing moves into the quarter-final stage with plenty of British interest, including lightweight Natasha Jonas’s next fight following her historic first win,” (The Independent, August 6).

“Nervous tension gripped the stadium as the fans held their breath for the seemingly endless seconds on the blocks,” (Agence France-Presse, August 6).

Table tennis: “Still, it was an historic finish for the Singapore men, who placed amongst the top eight at the Olympics for the first time,” (The Straits Times, August 6).

Sailing: “The trio must now hold their nerve in the final series of the match-racing to win an historic gold medal in the class,” (The Daily Telegraph, August 6).

Badminton: “Defending champion Lin Dan beats great rival Lee Chong Wei in a gripping men’s final,” (The Times of India, August 6).

Cliché of the Week appears in The Australian newspaper Mondays. Clichés in the media are tracked across the world using Factiva and Dow Jones Insight.

Chris Pash’s book, The Last Whale , a true story set in the 1970s, was published by Fremantle Press in 2008.