Don’t squeeze it Whipple.

Some phrases just get worn out.  Tired.  To the point that we can’t stand to hear them anymore.  Most of the time, it occurs due to the shear volume of overuse.  However, a few rank right up there, simply because they are absurd in their intention.

On the advertising side of things…
Just Do It.
Got Milk?
Where’s the beef?
Can you hear me now?
You asked for it, you got it. Toyota.
Fixodent, and forget it.
It takes a licking and keeps on ticking.
Gluten-free anything.

And then on the OMG side of things…
Awesome.
Awesome Sauce. (worse yet)
Throwback Thursday.
I’m just saying.
Trust me.
At the end of the day.

And the BIGGIE for me.. my gargantuan pet peeve…
(I’d say Drum roll please.  But most of you already know my Arrrrgggghhhh.)
IT IS WHAT IT IS.

You know. To me, “It is what it is” is lazy thinking.
Nothing else. An “off the hook” excuse.
Period.

Let’s look at history for some examples.
“President Roosevelt. They are slaughtering millions of Jews in Nazi Germany.”
FDR:  “Well boys.  It is what it is.”

Thomas Edison:  “Well, that first try at the light bulb didn’t work.  Hmmm boys. I guess it is what it is.  Sitting here in the dark ain’t so bad.”

…..

“Wilbur.  This air glider has crashed twice now.  I’m pretty sure man was meant to stay feet planted firmly on the ground.”
“Orville, I guess you are right.  It is what it is.”

Bystander at fire scene:  “Sir.  There are people trapped in that burning building.”
Firefighter:  “Well.  It is what it is.”

Yoda once said….. “There is NO ‘It is what it is’ Luke!  You either DO or you DO NOT…… what it is.”

Oh sure. People may say… “But Polly.  Sometimes things are just TRUE. It is as plain as the nose on your face.  Like… Your nose is large Polly.  Massive.  It is what it is.”

To which I say… “Standing next to your nose. Maybe it is huge.  But stand me next to an elephant, and then it doesn’t seem quite so bad.”

We have to think a little.  That’s all.

We certainly don’t have to think outside the box.  Because that has become cliche’ also.
Just think.  On our feet.

So, today, let’s all come up with a new phrase to make life better.
I’ll start.

“Read Kid Wednesday.  It is good for achy joints.  And bunions.”

(From all that thinking on your feet.)

 

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“No great discovery was ever made without a bold guess.”
― Isaac Newton

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“What is wanted is not the will to believe, but the will to find out, which is the exact opposite.”
― Bertrand Russell

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“The world unwraps itself to you, again and again as soon as you are ready to see it anew.”
― Gregory Maguire, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

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