One that comes to mind for me: "Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger" is not always true. Maybe even only half the time! Are there any phrases you tend to hear and shake your head at?
this post was submitted on 22 Aug 2024
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I've always liked it. I guess it depends who is saying it because when my old boss said it, it meant more like, "this is the situation we're in, let's not waste time arguing about why it is the situation and let's just focus on dealing with it and going forward"
Yeah it can have wildly different meanings depending on the circumstances in which it's said. It can be "well we can't change it, may as well get on with life" all the way to "well this discussion is not gonna change anything, let's get on with fixing it". Very similar, but polar opposite sentiments.
On the rare occasions that I’ve dragged out “it is what it is”, I’ve really wanted to say something like neither of us can change it, and instead of working towards a solution, all you’ve done is COMPLAIN for the last hour. Now SHUT UP, accept the situation, and make yourself useful!
Those sentiments seem identical to me.
First one is saying there's no point fixing anything, just get over it. Second one saying fixing it might suck, let's fix it anyway.
Very, very different...
Oh? They both read to me as "We can't change the past, only the future".
I personally would only use the original phrase to imply what you're saying. This is why context matters so much I think; some people just use it as a thought terminating cliche, I'm afraid.
Oedipus begs to differ.
You bring an interesting point! So there's a Japanese phrase this reminds me of: Shouganai (しょうがない) which translates to "It can't be helped". For me, this hits differently than "It is what it is". Perhaps it's the context, as I know it's said about natural disasters like tsunamis and therefore has a connotation of the "getting on with fixing it" like you said.
Sure, not everything needs to be picked apart in detail. But, I never use the phrase myself. As someone else ITT pointed out, context matters, too.
I tend to say things like, "we should fix it now, worry about blame later". Or something along those lines.