Translator training aims at the acquisition of an approach where target-text formulation is based on the translator's comprehension of the author's Message and intentions and on professional-loyalty based optimisation strategies. In texts generally used in training, which are not literary, the fact that a cliché carries a Message is only seldom significant. Cliches are therefore processed similarly to other text elements. They are potentially useful as a specific didactic tool for the training of beginners, but their value is yet to be explored.