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The death knell of a catch phrase? It is what it is

By SUSAN ASCHOFF
Published July 11, 2006

The way to determine whether an adage is past its prime is to look at who is still saying it.

If Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and pop star Britney Spears and wanna-be Donald Trump apprentice Lee Bienstock are all using the expression, then it is time for the expression to go.

"It is what it is" just isn't anymore.

Rumsfeld, pressed by a reporter about invading another country, said: "You can call that defense, as I do, or you can call it pre-emptive, but it is what it is."

Spears, chastised for driving with her infant son on her lap instead of in a car seat, told Access Hollywood: "I made a mistake and so it is what it is, I guess."

And on NBC's The Apprentice, job candidate Bienstock wrapped up a poorly executed, made-for-TV task with an "it is what it is" and a shrug.

"What I think the phrase reveals is an air of resignation about change that suffuses this generation," says Glenn Altschuler, the Litwin Professor of American Studies at Cornell University.

"You can compare it to Walter Cronkite signing off his newscast with 'and that's the way it is.' He was referring to the events of the day," says Altschuler.

But the phrase "it is what it is," he says, "expresses a sense of disillusionment."

There will always be catch phrases. Adages reflect the zeitgeist. Uncle Sam wants you. Make love, not war. Greed is good. Wassup?

In June 2003, Flak Magazine reported that "it's all good" - another idiom ad nauseum - had been dethroned by "it is what it is."

IIWII T-shirts are sold emblazoned with the acronym has been with us awhile.

When Al Gore won the popular vote but lost the presidency in 2000, conceding after a Supreme Court ruling on recounts, he said: "I strongly disagreed with the Supreme Court decision . . . but I respect the rule of law, so it is what it is."

In 2004, USA Today proclaimed the phrase the sports quote of the year: "the all-purpose alternative to the long-winded explanation." One writer elevated it to the ranks of other erudite sports insights, such as, "We're playing them one at a time."

Well, yes.

The all-purpose, don't bug me, not my fault shading of the expression is its strength and its weakness: "It's happened. I'm going to forget about it." Urbandictionary.com says IIWII is kin to "whatever," a response to cover the fact that you have nothing to say or don't care enough to try.

Urbandictionary.com also lists other definitions for "it is what it is":

Of course, when everyone uses a catch phrase, the death of the phrase is soon to follow. Maybe the zeitgeist is shifting again.

"We're in a period which may be, and I said may be, a moment when generational identity is changing," suggests Altschuler. Many of his students, the professor points out, believe they can make a difference by taking personal responsibility.

It doesn't need to be what it is.

Susan Aschoff can be reached at aschoff@sptimes.com or (727) 892-2293.

[Last modified July 10, 2006, 19:27:15]