It Is What It Is

I’ve heard those 5 words more than I care to, and yet, I find myself uttering them on occasion. What does it mean when you use that phrase?

I discovered that it’s a tautophrase – “A phrase or sentence that tautologically defines a term by repeating that term.” I don’t remember studying tautology in any of my literary criticism classes in college, so I looked it up on Wikipedia. Go here to read the definition.

It’s probably okay to use it in tenses too. With “it is what it is” being the present tense, “it was what it was” the past tense, and “it will be what it will be” the future tense. I use those on occasion, even though I think they’re all inelegant phrases.

Nevertheless, one of my college English lit professors told me that as a writer I can use any phrase I choose if it suits what I’m trying to communicate to readers. She said I can even make up my own words or a phrase if it gets my point across. So, I’ll leave yall with this one:

It’s not what it’s not.