"it is what it is"

This bland, somewhat existential (?) statement seems to be increasingly popular lately, from cooking shows, to god knows what else .... on TV tonight a Wallabies player describes the current lineup as "it is what it is"

Do you find the phrase:

helpful?

annoying?

useful?

boring?

What do you think? have you noticed it? do you use it?

I noticed it on jersey shore <3

I find the phrase... non interesting. Definitely not something worth discussing

COZ IT IS WHAT IT IS.

It is, indeed, what it is.





Kind of thread I would expect from Smiley tbh

Wait, hold tight.




FUCKIN YOUNG CUNT

Que Sera, Sera.

people that use this phrase are morons - as such anyone utters it near me I know I need not care what they have to say

Like everrything, it depends entirely on context....

also, FUGGEDABOUTIT! :>

Also thought this thread would be about this:

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-august-17-2011/doma-sweet-doma---beer---anchor-nursing?xrs=share_copy

Its just an somewhat overused reference to the ability to be able to accept what is, rather than burn vital energy fighting non-ideal situations that you cant actually do anything about.

Example. Your in line at the bank and get impatient, most people will stand there think "fucking line, Im bored, fuck my life, how long is that person going to take!? grrrrr I hate waiting, Id rather be somewhere else right now!!" etc etc.

All of that is a complete waste of time and is just succeding in stressing you out. So whats the point? It is what it is The line is there. So accept it..... and think of something else while you wait, or better still, observe and think of nothing at all

Stress kills you know, eliminating it is optimal. Allowing trivial stress is madness

acceptance of situations like your bank queue need not require some moron to point out the blindingly obvious with a phrase destined to invoke violence on the idiot that utters it

saying that people that get all flustered and angry in lines they have no control over are also feeding from the same trough as the phrase utterer

*shakes fist*

I use this phrase a lot. I enjoy it immensely.



gc.

I'll remember that SMF next time you drag up the change the flag debate, the change the national anthem debate and your anti fatties discussions

"IIWII" needs to be used in internet discussion imo

Bob_d as your attorney I feel I must advise you that I frequently use it in summing up, and like smf enjoy doing so.

Fuck you! Haha



gc.

It is at least more poetic and pleasant to read than the equivalent "Meh!" or, more correctly, "Eh!", I guess

it is what it is SMF

Hahahaha. :>

C'est la vie.

I hate "absolutely" much more. Especially in work meetings some people will utter it as much as possible

ABSOLUTELY MEANS WITHOUT DOUBT..... NOT PROBABLY OR I HOPE SO

really sucks when a phrase that is only occasionally appropriate and therefore can actually be a profound conclusion enters popular lexicon and just becomes another meaningless cliché. Suddenly everything "is what it is" Oh my, how did we get by without it when it's so true!! Because it's fucking obvious 99% of the time. Much like everything else that enters the heads as "novel" of those that use it every day.

And yeah if this sounds like something I'd post that's cool, to my mind it means I can see the wider implications. But is it "absolutely" awful? Is it "literally" shit? Does it make me "stabby"? Nah I don't care that much, "it's all good".

That awkward moment when something is what it is

haha yes "that awkward moment"!

I forgot about that, all over facebook likes: "That awkward moment when that phrase is used in something that is neither awkward or funny and quite frankly doesn't even make sense."

The appeal of most of these phrases is you can just give up thinking and spout a shitty little cliche

"cliche"



You clowns do realise that cliche is cliche now, right?



What exactly is wrong with using a phrase that suits exactly what you want to say? I do of course mean using it correctly, not just spouting it.


Why do you hate language so much?

Like accusing Michael Moore of hating the US so much.

First time i've used the word all week

Anyway, it doesn't have much to do with language to me. Sure I could go down that path and say how phrases butcher language blah blah but I'm not too bothered by it really so I'd just be playing some argue game.

It doesn't bother me if people like jumping on the phrase roundabout. I personally don't like to because I'm a little (self) conscious of the way language shapes the way we think and see the world. Using the phrase of the day allows us to not really think so much. I like at least an attempt at originality. That is what appeals to me more. I don't like "social acceptance by fashion" which is what these phrases sometimes represent too. If I use the right combination of brain-dead words, I'm automatically accepted as cool in some way by brain-dead peers. Kind of how marketing works.

I really don't care if someone wan't to reuse a phrase all the time, my tolerance is a lot higher than it might seem. I do like to observe and take the piss, but there is rarely any ill-feeling involved. After all, society is what is is...

So, in a situation where "it is what it is" is the appropriate sentiment, what would you use instead to convey the same meaning?

Reminds me of a joke:

A zebra went to heaven. When he saw St. Peter and S. Peter said "Zebra, is there anything you'd like to know before we welcome you into heaven?" The Zebra said, "You know, I have always wondered, am I a white horse with black stripes or a black horse with white stripes?" St. Peter said he would have to ask God that question since he's the one that made him.

So the zebra asked God, "God, am I a white horse with black stripes or a black horse with white stripes?"
God answered, "You are what you are."

The zebra left and came upon St. Peter and told him,
"Well I asked God if I was a white horse with black stripes or a black horse with white stripes..."
"What was the answer," St. Peter asked.

"Well I still don't know. All He said was: 'You are what you are."'

"Well that answers it," Said St. Peter. "You're a white horse with black stripes."

"How do you know that?" asked the zebra.

"Well if you were a black horse with white stripes He would have said: "You is what you is".

I enjoy this phrase best when uttered by a mafioso type/Omar before they wack someone. :>

What upsets me most is that hipsters have appropriated the term "cliche" to such an extent that even kris_b is speaking out

heh I've heard one of NZ's top family lawyers use it in court.

it is merely a justification for sticking it up your arse, nothing more: be satisfied with it

appalling

is that a convoluted way of saying you get satisfaction from anal penetration?

I has more in mind the lawyer's bill and the explanation for it

And the client's rebuke to it

i certainly sense how inane the phrase can be but i have been known to use it myself , to assist with accepting something that can't be changed and has to be dealt with, one of those things that you kind of want to get all antsey about and might even consider mild apopolexy but if you can just say 'it is what it is' then you save yourself a lot of mental turmoil

I said it during a meeting a today and instantly thought of this thread.