Hello, all! Your friendly, albeit pesky, Grammar Detective has a serious bone to pick. Yes, I’m looking at you. Don’t worry though. This is nothing that can’t be fixed.
Let’s talk tautology. What is a tautology?
Picture this. You're in the middle of a really great conversation. Deep, meaningful, intelligent. You ask a thoughtful question, only to receive this as a reply: "Well, it is what it is." You aren’t alone in your frustration with this response, and you certainly are not the only one grasping for its meaning.
This may come as a shocking newsflash to many but the statement “it is what it is” does not mean anything.
Gasp. Shudder. Faint!
Don't panic. Hear me out. The statement asserts redundancy. The subject, “it” is described by the same exact subject, “it,” repeated. For instance, if you ask someone, "What is a horse?" and they reply "A horse is a horse," you fail in clarifying any distinction. Such replies lack of depth, thought, meaning or any starting point for further conversation. There's also a 110% chance you've irritated the person who you just asked what a horse is by being THE WORST, but I digress.
For those of you who still don’t consider me a credible source,
[insert maniacal laugh while rubbing hands together whispering “One day, one day...” under breath]
I’ll share one that is. As defined by the Oxford English Dictionary, “[a tautology is] an argument, explanation or definition that merely restates in different words the very thing which is to be explained, shown or defined; a failure fully to separate cause from effect in explaining an event, phenomenon.”
The use of such a phrase doesn’t stimulate conversation; it flatlines it. Often you're left wondering if your co-conversationalist has listened to a word you’ve said.
Sure, many examples of tautology occur throughout literature and poetry. Hell, even Alfred, Lord Tennyson uses it in his poem “Ulysses.” When Ulysses addresses his men he says: “that which we are, we are.” In this case, the speaker of the dramatic monologue, the self-interested and bored King of Ithaca, does whatever he can to convince his tired, old crew to set sail for adventure one last time. I hope that helps give some indication as to the type of individuals expected to use a tautological phrase in an argument or conversation.
Zoë Triska, Senior Books Editor for the Huffington Post, mentions using the phrase in her article "The Phrase That Makes You Sound Like A Douchebag." Okay, so she’s a bit more aggressive than I am, but you get the point. She states in her article:
“You’re essentially saying that you’re not strong enough to either be honest or offer up any kind of solution. It’s an acceptance of defeat, resignation. It makes you look like a douchebag... and a moron.
Let’s be real here: 'It is what it is' is simply a way to evade making any true effort in a conversation or contribute anything remotely important. People only say it to feel like they’ve contributed something orally to a conversation, when in fact, they have contributed absolutely nothing at all.”
So how do we resolve this grammatical treachery? My advice: SPEAK UP! Assert your opinions and challenge ideas presented to you. Maybe you can even channel your inner Kurt Vonnegut and use "Slaughterhouse-Five's," "so it goes" when appropriate.
Well folks, I hope this lesson in phraseology deems itself useful.
Until next time,
The Grammar Detective
PS - Always remember: No, no it is not.
