threadbare
     adj 1: 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'" [syn: {banal}, {commonplace},
             {hackneyed}, {old-hat}, {shopworn}, {stock(a)}, {timeworn},
             {tired}, {trite}, {well-worn}]
     2: having the nap worn away so that the threads show through;
        "threadbare rugs"
Source: WordNet® 2.0