While Samantha is preparing Tabitha for kindergarten by hiring a warlock tutor, Prof. Phipps, Endora, hoping to help Darrin impress his boss, casts a spell that causes every phrase he speaks to come out as a cliché. The meddlesome mother-in-law mistakenly thinks clichés are an asset to Darrin's advertising career and so he is plagued to saying things like: A rolling stone gathers no moss....tickled pink....what's good for the goose is good for the gander." The problem comes when Larry Tate, Darrin's boss, threatens to cook his goose if he doesn't show more originality in his latest ad campaign for H. B. Summers, head of marketing for Multiple Industries.

Meanwhile, Prof. Phipps has added a personal touch to his instructing and makes Charles Dickens Oliver Twist more meaningful by blinking the Artful Dodger on the scene. The Dodger lives up to his infamous reputation by lifting Samantha's ring and Darrin's wallet. When Endora adds realism to her clichés by making Darrin's watch go suddenly airborne when he says, "time sure flies," and loud ringing bells when he says, "that rings a bell," Darrin decides he's had enough of bells and spells. He makes Samantha stop her mother's madness, dismisses Tabitha's tutor, and sends the Artful Dodger back to the book where he came from -- but not before the light-handed youngster leaves H. B. Summer's shirt linkless.