ISA

Contraction of "inshallah" or "insha Allah", literally "if God wills" or "God willing." A phrase Muslims are supposed to use whenever expressing an intention or prediction of the future, as a reminder that God is all-powerful and all human intentions are subject to His will. In practice, though, this pious thought is often used to evade personal responsibility, and when indicating an intention in conversation the actual meaning can vary all the way from "only an act of God will stop me" to "I actually have no intention of helping you/keeping this appointment/etc. and will have a stock excuse prepared if you call me on my flaking out."

"I'll be totally screwed if my computer's not working on Monday. Are you sure you can fix it by then?"

"ISA."

(privately) "Oh fuck."

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