I agree with your statement for the most part. There are some words/terms that I see in the written language over and over again that I am frankly sick of. Nothing wrong with these words/terms, but I'm just tired of seeing them. For this reason you will never catch one of my characters hunkered down. They may squat or stoop, but they won't hunker. Nor will they ball their hands into fists. They will clench their hands if the need arises. And finally, none of my characters will ever release the breath they forgot they were holding. If they are too stupid to breathe, then they don't need to be in my book.

Yes, but your statement would fall in the 'met people who've used words in ways I didn't like' portion of my quote. To me, words are like weapons, tools, or money. They are inert until placed in the right or wrong hands.

Hence why I've never met a word I didn't like. And I do mean ANY word. People assign meanings and/or perceptions to words through our experiences or usage. Words themselves are nothing more than text. The same word can have very different meanings to different people, or can be used in widely different ways.

ETA: though I agree that certain phrases and such are just lame/cliched.

Agreed!