serving to distinguish or identify a species or group; "the distinguishing mark of the species is its plumage"; "distinctive tribal tattoos"; "we were asked to describe any identifying marks or distinguishing features"
repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse; "bromidic sermons"; "his remarks were trite and commonplace"; "hackneyed phrases"; "a stock answer"; "repeating threadbare jokes"; "parroting some timeworn axiom"; "the trite metaphor `hard as nails'"