There are certain phrases in our language, which say one thing, very clearly. Yet….. more often than not….. they mean something entirely different.

Oh you know. Like. “Well, the cat’s out of the bag!” Or… “Easy as pie.”

Most of the time, when people say those things…. there is no cat around, and certainly not one in a bag. Same thing with the dang pie.

But…. in the majority of cases… when someone uses a phrase like that.. it means that YOU are in big trouble. Yep.  You are crap out of luck. Jerked. In dire straights. Duped. Up the proverbial creek without the handy paddle.

One that comes to mind, is a pet peeve of mine. “It is what it is.” People throw that one around a lot.

For instance… someone says… “NASA has confirmed global climate changes. Driven by increasing man-made emissions, the level of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere presently is higher than at any time in the last 800,000 years.”

And the next person says…. “Well. It is what it is.”

Arrrrrrgggghhhhh….. which translates… well there is nothing to be done about it. Just throw your hands in the air and accept our jelly spines.

Okay. Forget that example. Everyone uses it. It makes me crazy.  But it is what it is.

Here is another. “That’s the way the ball bounces.”

Now that one means you are plain out of luck. You’re done.  You are jerked. Bluto. Kaput.  The “way the ball  bounces” is just another one of those…. throw your hands in the air and give up. Bounce. Bounce. Bounce.

One more… and I will stop.

“On down the line.”

Now when you hear this one… it means that the person saying it has absolutely no intention of doing something.

“Yep. Maybe we will get to that… on down the line.” OR….. “Oh yes. We’ll have to get together for lunch….. sometime on down the line.”

Go ahead. Ask them. “What line?” I want to know how far away that line is.

So. When someone gives you bad news, or is not telling you the whole truth, they will mostly use a catchy phrase to distract you. Shift the focus. Hide the message.

And if it happens to you…. Keep a stiff upper lip. Don’t put your head in the sand. Buckle down. And stay as cool as a cucumber.

But not all at once. You will get sand in you lip, and squish your cucumber.

Then again… if it happens…. it is what it is.

 

Circumstances do not make the man, they reveal him.  — James Allen