History Main / ReviewerStockPhrases

* If a CutAndPasteTranslation has a bad dub or {{Bowdlerize}}s content to be shown on kids' television, "like [[Creator/FourKidsEntertainment 4Kids]]" is the go-to insult for the studio that translated it.

* Similarly, ''every'' Music/TheRollingStones album will be called "their best album since ''Music/TattooYou''" or "their best album since ''Music/SomeGirls''". The next step on the ladder is "their best album since ''Music/ExileOnMainSt.''" but although the phrase has been uttered occasionally, consensus is that only ''Music/SomeGirls'' itself deserves it. The problem is that, your logical and mathematical mind might deduce that Rolling Stones' albums since the one after ''Music/TattooYou'' are better and better each time, but the review usually manages to imply that the album before the one under review was their worst ever. Which when given a careful thought ''makes absolutely no sense''.

* The world "shambolic" is used to describe Music/TheRollingStones, bands that sound like the Stones, and nothing else in the universe.

* "Sophomoric" has become a cliche phrase within music reviews. As has the infamous "SophomoreSlump" that critics use to describe [[FollowUpFailure disappointing follow-up records]].

* "pretentious", "self-indulgent" or "dinosaur", especially where 1970's rock not amounting to ThreeChordsAndTheTruth or TotallyRadical is concerned.

* Any given artist capable of making catchy songs has "pop sensibilities", even when their style has nothing to do with pop music

* When reading any review for a guitar, amp or effects pedal, expect any of these terms: Crunchy, gritty, bluesy, blistering, searing, fat, chunky, wide, smooth, biting, nasty, squeals, scooped, tinny, rich, warm, hollow, tubey and sings.
** And in a video review, no matter what they're reviewing, if they're playing a guitar they will make their O-face the whole time.

** Historians/biographers, and even the man himself, have noticed that starting with 1993's ''Black Tie White Noise'', his first solo album of TheNineties, critics loveto use some variant on the praise "his best album since ''Music/ScaryMonstersAndSuperCreeps''" when reviewing his work. That 1980 [[NewWaveMusic New Wave]] album was followed by the mainstream mega-seller ''Let's Dance'' and then the [[Main/DorkAge dork ages]] of his mid-'80s output and the group Tin Machine, so it was regarded as "his last great album" for many years.

* For Music/BobDylan, it's "best since ''Music/BloodOnTheTracks.''" Way to brush over decades worth of great material.

* "Tasty slab". As in (taken from a random music blog found in a quick Google search) "It’s a tasty slab of bass-heavy, window-shaking pop euphoria."

* Starting with ''Recovery'', every Music/{{Eminem}} album that is well-received is often hailed by critics and fans alike as "his best since ''Music/TheEminemShow''".

* On Wiki/ThisVeryWiki, it used to be common to find examples that are the "poster child" or "patron saint" of the trope in question.

* Popular science books will often feature quotes comparing the book to the work of famous science writers in that field, whether or not the structure of the book’s text and/or the author’s style really resembles their famous colleague’s—- books about space are “in the tradition of [[Creator/CarlSagan Carl Sagan]]”, for oceanography, [[Creator/JacquesCousteau Jacques Cousteau]], Jane Goodall for wildlife biology, and so forth.

* ''WebOriginal/{{Chrontendo}}'', wary of the phrases chronogamers use all too often, made [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-67BV7mJ5LI this video]], in which [[StylisticSuck he is playing those clichés for laughs]].

* The game ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' itself has been used so often that bringing it up as a comparison ''at all'' is considered a cliche. If a game has a facet of difficulty through learning, backtracking, a dark and [[BodyHorror disgusting]] atmosphere, being just plain hard, or any other element from ''Dark Souls'', it will elicit this comparison, followed quickly by groans in the audience.

* "It's like ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' in/on/with X" was and still is very popular to describe any very "mature" bit of [[AnimatedShockComedy western animation that includes loads of swearing or adult situations]]. It used to be that any very "mature" show that was VulgarHumor or RefugeInAudacity was compared to ''TheSimpsons'', but this has been phased out with the advent of much more outrageous cartoon shows.

* ''Extremely'' common contemporarily, any game which features either [[NintendoHard high difficulty]] or [[FinalDeath permanent death]] is now bandied about as a "{{Main/Roguelike}}" or "Rogueli''t''e", even if it has absolutely nothing (else) in common with roleplaying games, the roguelike genre, or the original ''{{VideoGame/Rogue}}'' game.

* "It's like ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' in/on/with X" was and still is very popular to describe any very "mature" bit of [[AllAdultAnimationIsSouthPark western animation that includes loads of swearing or adult situations]]. It used to be that any very "mature" show that was VulgarHumor or RefugeInAudacity was compared to ''TheSimpsons'', but this has been phased out with the advent of much more outrageous cartoon shows.

->''There is no such thing as "fun for the whole family".''

* "It's like ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' in/on/with X" was and still is very popular to describe any very "mature" bit of [[AllAdultAnimationIsSouthPark western animation that includes loads of swearing or adult situations]]. It used to be that any very "mature" show that was VulgarHumor or RefugeInAudacity was compared to ''TheSimpsons'', but this has been phased out with other outrageous cartoon shows from Western Animation. Yet another sign that ''TheSimpsons'' isn't as outrageous as it used to be.

* Much like its Western counterpart, 3D anime will usually either get complaints that it's trying to impose on "the last bastion of 2D" if too {{Conspicuous|CG}}, or compliments that "3D can coexist with 2D" if it mimics 2D style well.

ReviewerStandardComparisons is a SubTrope. See also ReviewIronicEcho, when reviewers can't resist making an obvious {{Pun}} on the title or a SnarkBait line from the work.

** "Succulent", beloved by hacky restaurant critics and hacky restaurant ad copywriters alike.

** ''Discworld/TheTruth'', about the Disc's first newspaper, played with this trope. Albeit about news reporting, not reviews per se. For example, the words ''rumpus'' and ''fracas'' only appear in certain newspapers, the same way ''beverages'' only appear on certain menus.
** ''Discworld/EqualRites'' had a foreword reading "This book is not wacky. Only [[Series/ILoveLucy dumb redheads in Fifties sitcoms]] are wacky. It isn't zany, either."

* Popular science books will often feature quotes comparing the book to the work of famous science writers in that field, whether or not the structure of the book’s structure and/or the author’s style really resembles their famous colleague’s—- books about space are “in the tradition of [[Creator/CarlSagan Carl Sagan]]”, for oceanography, [[Creator/JacquesCousteau Jacques Cousteau]], Jane Goodall for wildlife biology, and so forth.

* KillerApp: a game so good it's a system seller: ''SuperMarioBros'', ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}'', ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', et al.

** In the same vein, if it has anthropomorphic woodland creatures, especially if they're mice, it'll be "perfect for fans of ''Literature/{{Redwall}}''."

* Female singer-songwriters are often compared to Music/JoniMitchell.