hackneyed
HAK-needadjMeaning overused and unoriginal
Memory hook HACKNEY: a hired horse worn out by use. The old hired horse has carried every tourist in town and now plods along, worn out by use. An idea worn out the same way is hackneyed.
The hackneyed plot, a lost dog finds its way home, had been filmed a dozen times.
In context The judges rejected the slogan as hackneyed: “Better than ever” had already been printed on a thousand products.
Similar overused, trite, stale, clichéd
Opposite original, fresh, innovative
From hackney, an ordinary horse for hire: ridden by everyone, it was worn out with use.