Menu
What's new
By:
Filters

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

Zedcars said:
Sometimes people speak, not to communicate anything in particular, but for all kinds of other reasons:

  • Nervousness.
  • Stress calming.
  • A dislike or fear of silence (sedatephobia).
  • To give you time to think before continuing the conversation (eg erm, so, I mean).
  • As a way to unambiguously end a sentence or the conversation (eg “and that was that”, “innit”, “if you know what I mean”).
  • Talking to yourself (for reassurance or to aid thinking).
  • Talking in your sleep.
  • Talking to pets/plants/inanimate objects.
  • Talking to rehearse what to say to someone you’re about to meet.
  • Filler words.
  • Phatic expressions.
Probably quite a few more.

You could argue that some of those are still communicating something. But the words used and their intended meanings (or lack of) are pretty arbitrary when you look at the underlying reasons for their use in some of these examples.
Click to expand...
Very true. Oral utterances do not necessarily correlate well with intended meaning.
 
“It’s not that big of a deal”.

No, it is. It really is. It’s a big deal that it’s not big of a deal. It may not be much of a deal to you but it’s a big deal to me. How large a deal it is might be open to question but the fact is that if it was a big of a deal then it would be a big of a me to not give you a big of fat face slap and tell you to big off.
 
Thundercat said:
Not missing it at all. I love words. I’m a writer.

I just don’t argue about words and spelling and semantics anymore because I know it’s only purpose is to facilitate communication.

And random arguments online:
Click to expand...
I'm glad to hear it. For me it's not an argument, because as an editor I get to be Grammar Mussolini and simply re-write what bothers me. :)

Also, to be a mansplaining jerk (I can't help myself): it's not semantics, to argue semantics, it's language. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom