Was this the week...?

This is off-topic, but I thought I'd google some of my least favourite political cliches and find out how often they come up.

How about "was this the week"? This is usually followed by "x won/lost the next election". So here are a few hits -

Was this the week Miliband finally headed for No 10?

Was this the week when the coalition's initial momentum finally faltered?

Was this the week that Ed Miliband began his unstoppable climb to power?

Was this the week that determined the result of the general election?

Was this the week in which Cameron signed up to Obama's re-election campaign?

Was this the week the Referendum was won?

Was this the week Gordon Brown lost the election?

Was This the Day that Barack Obama Lost the Election

I put the prevalence of "was this the week" down to political commentators desire to be seen to highlight the real turning points, even before their consequences have fully played out. So these are a bit like those "what level will the FTSE100 be at next year" bits in the personal finance pages.

What I really cannot excuse, however, is "champagne corks popping". And they seem to pop an awful lot - 

Expect to see champagne corks popping at Tory central office

champagne corks popping in the Leader's Office.

 There should have been champagne corks popping in CCHQ

Was that the sound of champagne corks popping at CCHQ?

That noise you hear is the champagne corks popping in No.10 at Ed Miliband's decision to rule out a Euro referendum.

The High Court's award of an injunction against the RMT's planned Strike Action will have champagne corks popping in Downing Street.

"I think I heard the putt-putt of champagne corks popping in No 11"

What I really don't like about this one is the idea that trigger-happy politicos are just waiting pop the corks off champagne over minor political advantages. But maybe that is just what Tories are actually like...

Finally, some people are still willing to use "speech of his/her political life". Please stop. Now. 

the most momentous speech of his political life

the most important speech of his political life,

Cameron makes the most important speech of his political life

the most important speech of his political life

Last year, Miliband gave the speech of his political life.

I'm just waiting to be able to say that this was the week that X won the election after giving the speech of their political life that left champagne corks popping in Number 10.