Certain phrases seem to creep into our vocabulary without us hardly even noticing. Before we know it, everyone's saying it, and it becomes a regular part of how we respond to situations on the job or at home. Major Andrew Steadman is an Army officer of more than 15 years and is passionate about developing leaders through his blog, The Military Leader. He is also co-founder of The Military Writers Guild.

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Do You Know This Synonym? Deal with it. I t is what it is is an expression used to characterize a frustrating or challenging situation that a person believes cannot be changed and must just be accepted. According to the New York Times , the phrase it is what it is appeared as early as an article by J. Lawrence in The Nebraska State Journal. Lawrence used the phrase when describing the difficulty faced during frontier -era life in Nebraska:.
"It Is What It Is": Origin of the Phrase
Top definition. It is what it is. 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. Danish November 27, Challenge Video. Nov 3 Word of the Day.
You're not alone if you wonder who should be attributed as the author of the famous quotation "It is what it is. Like the best idioms , it contains a kernel of truth that can't be argued with, and it manages to get across a whole range of emotions in just a few simple words. You may expect it to originate from a work of literature or poem like many common phrases that are actually famous quotes from Shakespeare or other renowned authors. However, the earliest known written reference dates back to just , according to the New York Times. The phrase appeared in a column written by J. Lawrence in the Nebraska State Journal:. It scorns evidence of weakness. There is nothing of sham or hypocrisy in it. It is what it is, without an apology.