This phrase is overused, misused and trite. It is the current reinging sports cliché. I find it in everyday conversation wtih people who use it as a way to dismiss their behavior, avoid changing their behavior, and closing the topic of responsibility. It's defiant in a passive-aggressive way.
Found a blog post that further speaks to how juvenile this prhase is:
The phrase is popular with today's sports figures because, like all clichés, it helps them avoid speaking about the essence of anything. Queried about whether a key fourth-down decision by coach Marvin Lewis had cost his team a game last fall, Bengals tackle Levi Jones sought cover: "It is what it is. We didn't win the football game." Likewise, when Lakers guard Kobe Bryant was disinclined to talk about how he'd eased teammate Shaquille O'Neal out of town, he went for the handiest refuge available. "It is what it is, man," he told reporters. "I've just moved on." Even retired players have a hard time shaking the habit. "It is what it is," Cal Ripken Jr. told the Baltimore Sun last year after being voted into the Hall of Fame.
Read the full post by Douglas McCollam – 2008 here – 2008? and we still are unable to find a new phrase to not take responsibility for our actions. We are becoming lazy, indeed.
Here are the two camps on this phrase:
- Those who use it as acceptance to something they cannot change, but need to deal with and move forward.
- Those who use it as an execuse to continue the same behavior, not look at how they ended up in the position of using this dismissive phrase.
Trite describes something that is stale or overused or cliche. (adjective)
An example of trite is an expression that everyone uses that has lost all meaning because it is used so much. A trite expression is worn out by constant use; no longer having freshness, originality, or novelty; stale: a trite idea, remark, etc.
Trendy phrases seem to fade away once the "not so cool" people use them, kind of like when fashion trends hit WalMart – they are done. Hopefully this one will fade away, as did "It's all good…" and "Are you KIDDING me?". I look forward to that day, like totally, fer sure, fer sure.
Challenge yourself to accept your responsiblity and consider changing damaging behavior, or just find a new catch-phrase that isn't used by every celebrity sports figure, Goth teen, and the night court regulars.