Thursday, September 1, 2011

What the ... trite phrase?!?!?!

"It is what it is."

I don't know who first started using that phrase but nowadays you hear it a lot. Way too much in fact. The husband of one of my niece's is a prime example of a person who overuses that phrase. It will pop up several times in the course of a conversation.

"What do you think about this or that change your favourite hockey team made?"

"It is what is is." and no explanation of exactly what that means.

"Why did that happen at work?"

"It is what it is."

The first time I remember hearing it used too much was in the first Top Chef series. You would hear it several times an episode. They actually joked about it at the reunion show. Since then it appears all the time on the show.

It has become so overused that I tend to cringe when I hear it and think the speaker just isn't articulate enough to express themself without resorting to some trite phrase.


2 comments:

  1. I'm guilty of using trite phrases every once in a while. I remember after watching 'Miller's Crossing' that I used the phrase "What's the rumpus?" until my brother had to wrestle me to the ground and beat me senseless.
    I find that when ever a phrase makes its way into general usage, like on CNN, it's over. Once those clueless twits start using it in an attempt to be relevant, it just shows how out of touch they really are.

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  2. Glad I don't watch much TV. :) I just find I have heard "It is what it is." way too often.

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