An expression which is increasingly heard these days on television and in political comment is the rather cryptic "it is what it is". Not exactly an illuminating observation, and it prompts the question, "But, what is it?" Apparently it means a certain situation that cannot be changed however much you want and carries an element of resignation.
Politicians like the expression partly because it sounds much better than the traditional "no comment" when they're asked an awkward question. Even better it usually brings the questioning to an abrupt halt. It is of course not an entirely satisfactory answer and can be a lazy way of avoiding proper explanations.
"It is what it is" has been around a long time in a variety of guises. In Shakespeare's Macbeth it surfaces in slightly different words when Lady Macbeth concedes "what's done is done". There is a similar expression for events in the future with "whatever happens, happens" perhaps better known as "que sera sera" (whatever will be, will be) made popular by the Doris Day song in 1956.
