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Q&A Are idioms in query letters a bad idea?

I am writing a logline sentence of a query letter for my novel and used the idiom 'cat and mouse' as follows: A military bioweapons collector is forced to engage in a game of ‘cat and mouse’ w...

1 answer  ·  posted 7y ago by Richard Stanzak‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Question word-choice queries
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T06:17:16Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/27336
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar Richard Stanzak‭ · 2019-12-08T06:17:16Z (almost 5 years ago)
I am writing a logline sentence of a query letter for my novel and used the idiom 'cat and mouse' as follows:

> A military bioweapons collector is forced to engage in a game of ‘cat and mouse’ with his Russian counterpart as he seeks a cure for the epidemic he inadvertently created.

I was told it is a cliché and you shouldn't use idioms in query letters because they show lack of originality. The problem is, I cannot find a suitable synonym for 'cat and mouse game'.

Are ALL idioms really that bad? This one is very descriptive of a conflict that is an impasse despite all attempts at a resolution and the mouse occasionally wins. Is it preferable to spell out concepts like this even though a well-worn idiom like 'cat and mouse game' exists to communicate the concept quickly?

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2017-03-23T23:16:24Z (over 7 years ago)
Original score: 7