a brief declamation indicating that the thing speaks for itself, or that any unpleasant aspects of a situation cannot be changed, as in “The CEO just moved the update meeting for the third time after we rescheduled our whole month for it, but it is what it is”; can be used to express resignation, acknowledgment of an absurdity, acceptance of the unexpected, etc., and further encourages the listener to not dwell on what has transpired, while conveying a certain stoic resolve; this specimen is considered the epitome of existentialist jargon, bleak yet strangely reassuring