(entered for 02.02.06)

Meaning: you can’t apply everything to the same circumstances. Use examples.
Rewrite 1: you can’t force an X-shaped letter into a Y-shaped hole
Rewrite 2: you can’t pick an peach from an apple tree
Rewrite 3: you can’t strap a horse saddle on an ox
Rewrite 4: you can’t fit a 2-inch peg in a 1-inch hole

Comment: There are lots of ways to look at this – as shapes, sizes, kinds of things, and so on.

More reading about clichés
What I found when I googled “clichés”:
• Animal Proverbs, Clichés, Quotes and More: “…fun stuff that I [writer] came across while researching.”

Check out the new alphabetical list of all my cliché rewrites available in the archive list at the right. To search the page using Internet Explorer, just go to “Edit” in the top menu bar, select “Find”, then enter the cliché or a word from it.