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“It Is What It Is”…and Other Irritating Phrases

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I appreciate that languages change over time
I often feel the same--but not with boughten. I recall France, years ago, trying to stop the evolution of their language--or devolution of it, as they wanted to stop English words and other foreign words from invading their language. "Courriel" was to replace "email." I haven't checked to see how that attempt went.
 
“It is what it is”: Over the last few weeks I’ve been hearing this phrase more and more. I hear it at work, on the radio, on TV. Heck, even my elderly mother used it today! :rolleyes: Every-freaking-where I go…almost every day. Someone somewhere says it. It’s so annoying and pointless! What does it even mean? :mad:

What phrases have you heard that irritate you?
In the right context it can be useful… I was mixing with a great engineer and the drummer didn’t quite hit the mark and we tried to mix it to sound better for a while until he said “it is what it is” it was the perfect call at that time :)
 
To me, "it is what it is" is so irritating specifically because it's a boring, defeatist answer to any problem.

If "it is what it is" were true, there would be no innovation, no freedom from subjugation, and nothing worthwhile to do.

"It is what it is" is, arguably, the opposite of the human condition.
 
Here's one:

"Free...As in beer"

Look, man! If you wanna tell me where all this free beer is to be found, perhaps we could spend the afternoon drinking and discussing the deeper points of developer/consumer rights/liberties. But until then, I just wanna know if I need to get my wallet out.
 
Here's one:

"Free...As in beer"

Look, man! If you wanna tell me where all this free beer is to be found, perhaps we could spend the afternoon drinking and discussing the deeper points of developer/consumer rights/liberties. But until then, I just wanna know if I need to get my wallet out.
libeer

(this one is for you, @d.healey :) )
 
"Going forward" one of the most pointless corporate phrases that has somehow seeped into everyday utterances. The words that follow tend to be about future events, yet the tense and the context is perfectly adequate to provide this information without this stupid phrase. "Moving forward" comes in a close second.
 
Are you suggesting that it is what it is not?
What I mean is that it shouldn't have to continue being how it currently is. You could make a case for that the entire meaning of life. "It is what it is" implies an unwillingness to make "it" be what it isn't yet.
"Going forward" one of the most pointless corporate phrases that has somehow seeped into everyday utterances. The words that follow tend to be about future events, yet the tense and the context is perfectly adequate to provide this information without this stupid phrase. "Moving forward" comes in a close second.
In these uncertain times...
 
I recall France, years ago, trying to stop the evolution of their language--or devolution of it, as they wanted to stop English words and other foreign words from invading their language. "Courriel" was to replace "email." I haven't checked to see how that attempt went.
Well, it went not so bad.

« Courriel » is pretty common here, but we did not drop the use of « email ».
Young people have also borrowed a lot of words from west & north Africa lately.

French is a living language but some conservative people would like to keep it « pure » (which it never was).

That said, we have a long trend of borrowing a lot of words from English when the exact definition already exists in French - just to sound cool y’know.
Or use English concepts hardly explained or understood (last exemple : woke culture).
Social media have not helped French language much…
 
Here's another pet peeve that I've seen soar in popularity the last few months:

When people do the "ending a quotation one word late thing".
 
What I mean is that it shouldn't have to continue being how it currently is. You could make a case for that the entire meaning of life. "It is what it is" implies an unwillingness to make "it" be what it isn't yet.

In these uncertain times...
Haha! I was joking...for the most part. i agree with your idea up to a point. But I feel there is a lot of utility in trying to completely diffuse worry about things that we cannot possibly change. In that case, "It is what it is" is just as suitable as other options.

Actually, If I'm being honest (I bet that's like nails down a chalkboard for at least a few here ;)), I can see utility in many/most of the examples in this thread. For me, my tolerance depends on frequency of usage. Starting the occasional sentence with "Like" or "So" is no issue for me. Starting every sentence in such a manner is a real problem.

Language changes and advances. It is what it is ;)
 
In the right context it can be useful…
No it really can't.

And I think this was mentioned already, but just in case: starting a sentence with "So" when it makes no sense at all. For example: "So I'm using this plugin..."

I agree: so?
 
No it really can't.

And I think this was mentioned already, but just in case: starting a sentence with "So" when it makes no sense at all. For example: "So I'm using this plugin..."

I agree: so?
So what? :P
 
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