on behalf of a researcher

[Jonathan Lighter]

Didn't Bill Clinton say something like this? Or was it just the opposite?

  My interpretation of this seemingly recent proverb is much like that of  Arnold's assistant. It's kind of a pseudo-intellectual brush-off that tries to rise above the practically synonymous "whatever!"  With a wee _soupcon_ of "Butt out, loser!"

  JL

"Arnold M. Zwicky" <zwicky at CSLI.STANFORD.EDU> wrote:
  ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: "Arnold M. Zwicky"
Subject: Re: on behalf of a researcher
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

here's what i said to aaron britt:

----------
i would normally understand it to be conveying that there's nothing
more in it (whatever it is) than appears on the surface; you
shouldn't expect more. so i might say of a piece of software, "it is
what it is", meaning that i does what it purports to do, even though
there might be a lot of other things you wished it would do.

probably, in the right context it could convey that things aren't
going to change; there's no sense in trying to change it.

my undergraduate research assistant offers a third, related,
possibility: there's no point in trying to explain it; it just is
what it is.

googling on "it is what it is" turns up a big pile of stuff.
---------

as for paraphrases, i had no great inspiration.

arnold

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



---------------------------------
 Yahoo! Autos. Looking for a sweet ride? Get pricing, reviews, & more on new and used cars.

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org