Definition of chestnutnext
as in bromide
an idea or expression that has been used by many people An op-ed piece that offers nothing but warmed-over chestnuts for solving the city's financial woes.

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for chestnut
Noun
  • The bromide has it that a liberal is a person who won’t take his own side in an argument.
    Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026
  • In Cuba today, Marxist bromides serve as nothing more than rhetorical cover for corruption.
    Quico Toro, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • What does the phrase squeaky bum time, the racehorse Devon Loch, and the Portuguese proverb ‘morrer na prais’ all have in common?
    Ian Irving, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2026
  • The rooms The old Japanese proverb ‘*kachou fuugetsu’—*which translates as ‘flower, bird, wind, moon’ evoking a sense of the transient beauty of nature—is a key concept at the hotel.
    Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • Epic historical fiction, dark academia, and the quirkiest 90s throwback, each novel showcasing a different facet of the slow burn trope.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 3 Apr. 2026
  • Still others are repeating the same tropes that have plagued college sports for more than a decade.
    Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 3 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • But, travel experts say, that truism doesn't apply during this tumultuous period.
    ANDREA SACHS THE WASHINGTON POST, Arkansas Online, 29 Mar. 2026
  • That is a truism of NFL free agency.
    Daniel Popper, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • But for UConn, the platitudes feel profoundly honest.
    Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 29 Mar. 2026
  • Donovan reiterated a series of platitudes that haven’t changed during his time with the Bulls.
    Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 26 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • The banality of her words about Ma Binney was terrible.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Mar. 2026
  • The scale and range of Dominique Pelicot’s partners in crime showed the terrible banality of their acts, and how easily society had allowed them.
    Gaby Wood, Vogue, 21 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • But as the saying goes, one data report is just a signal; two is a pattern; three months, really, is what tells you the trend.
    Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 3 Apr. 2026
  • In fact, there’s a saying among gardeners that perennials sleep, creep, leap.
    Arricca Elin SanSone, Southern Living, 2 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • But a new shibboleth has seized the day.
    Bruce Stockler, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2026
  • The director scores easy laughs off of modern-day progressive shibboleths such as gender-fluid pronouns, trigger warnings and Native American land acknowledgments.
    Gustavo Arellano, Houston Chronicle, 25 Mar. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Chestnut.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chestnut. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.

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