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A phrase used to describe a situation that is less than ideal that you can't change.
It is what it is and all we can do is accept it and carry on.
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Used often in the business world, this incredibly versatile phrase can be literally translated as "fuck it."
The client changed the deadline to today? Well, it is what it is.
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A cliche, popular within the circles of coaches, business execs, and those of us who just want to say "It's happened. 'I'm going to forget about it. I'm going to move on. There is nothing that can be done about it."
Voted by USA Today as the #1 cliche of 2004
"We showed up and gave 100%, and it is what it is."— NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson, after finishing second in the Nextel Cup championship. (AP, Nov. 22)
"Never in a million years did I think we would be 1-5 at this juncture, but it is what it is."— Mike Minter, safety for the NFL's Carolina Panthers, on his team's start this season. (AP, Oct. 24)
Is this a better game than before? That's what a lot of people are asking. Perhaps the more precise question should be: Is this what hockey is going to evolve into? And if so, will the fans, the players, the coaches, and the general managers embrace it as NHL hockey?
"It is what it is," said Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock. "It's a new game." (AP, Oct. 23)
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A popular “weasel phrase” used frequently by merger integration consultants, it refers to a negative situation that is outside of one’s sphere of influence and as such should not be further pursued in hopes of resolution. An approximate translation could be: “this is f*cked, but I can’t fix it, so why bother”.
"This company is rubbish. Their systems are stuffed, all their good staff are leaving, and just when the sh*t is hitting the fan, our manager goes off on holiday to Hawaii. But it is what it is, I guess...”
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Phrase used by someone in order to accept even the most 'unacceptable' situation that would normally be a load of horse shit. Only because they know they have to.
Tom: Man why do we have to pay taxes for people who don't even work?
Bob: Hey man, it is what it is.
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A way of demonstrating apathy; an unwillingness to evoke change; a way of saying "It's not of interest to me."
Teacher: I just found out that OSHA regulations do not cover public employees in Florida. I was injured due to school construction and now have permanent hearing loss.
Friends: Oh well...It is what it is.
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A completely useless phrase that is a tautology, or something that is true in every possible interpretation. A permanently self-proving and recursive phrase, there is never a time when it isn't what it is, because if there is, it wouldn't be itself, a condition which can never be true, or happen.
Otherwise, it's a meaningless statement meant to convey helplessness, uselessness, pointlessness, or that something may not have the really great features of its counterparts, but will do the job.
In all cases where one might wish to say "it is what it is", one should always instead simply state what the phrase is intended to mean.
Dud: "I mean, the car doesn't have an engine, wheels, frame, steering wheel, doors, body panels, window glass, electrical system, transmission, but for eleventy hundred bucks, it is what it is."
Bud: "Well of course it is what it is. Is there ever a time when it isn't what it is?"
Dud: "You know what I meant!"
Bud: " Then you should have just said what you meant instead."
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