Who moved my line?

This past week, I've received a number of responses to my work which spark off all manner of interesting thoughts, ranging from what-if-I-change-this-scene to I-never-thought-about-it-that- way to huh,-really?

One person commented that a couple of my descriptions don't make sense. I was trying to avoid cliches and show familiar scenes in a fresh way but apparently, my efforts fall as flat as a pancake at the bottom of the stack. (Don't even bother commenting on this one.)

That got me thinking: the line the separates what works and what doesn't is not only fine, but undefined.

Unusual and fresh can easily become obscure;
universal--cliche
subtle--unclear
lively--hyper
colorful and quirky--too-clever and annoying

And don't forget one-man's-trash and beauty-lies-in-the-eyes and all the others cliches we hate but agree reluctantly.

So what are some of the areas whose boundaries are so fluid and ever-changing that give you grief when you write?