Anyone have a clue as to where the phrase “it’s academic” came from?
It think it’s just a way of describing a question that has plenty of intellectual interest with little practical impact.
For example, if you are considering diving off a pier into the ocean, and you sea a bunch of dorsal fins belonging to marine predators, it is a purely academic question whether the creatures are tiger sharks, white sharks, or what. A marine biologist might be interested, but a recreational swimmer would probably not be.
“it’s academic” is not a phrase, it’s just a sentence using one of the meanings of the word academic.
The dictionary is a wonderful tool!
Merriam-Webster®’s Collegiate® Dictionary
Main Entry: 2academic
Variant(s): also ac·a·dem·i·cal /-mi-k&l/
Function: adjective
Date: 1588
1 a : of, relating to, or associated with an academy or school especially of higher learning b : of or relating to performance in academic courses <academic excellence> c : very learned but inexperienced in practical matters <academic thinkers> d : based on formal study especially at an institution of higher learning
2 : of or relating to literary or artistic rather than technical or professional studies
3 a : THEORETICAL, SPECULATIVE <an academic question> b : having no practical or useful significance
4 : conforming to the traditions or rules of a school (as of literature or art) or an official academy : CONVENTIONAL
- ac·a·dem·i·cal·ly /-mi-k(&-)lE/ adverb
Arnold, please, the questioner is posing a more serious question than you are crediting. The issue isn’t “what is one definition of the word ‘academic’?” The issue is: "Why has a word that is defined under definitions 1 and 2 grown into having definition #3 (especially 3b)?
If anyone can shed light on how it is that issues of little practical significance became associated with centers of higher learning, perhaps they can help our poor friend who posed the question.
It’s also the name of a local (DC) quiz show for high school students. 
You must unlearn what you have learned. – Yoda
DSYoungEsq, perhaps my reliance on the dictionary was too hasty, but it seems to me that the answer to your implied question “If anyone can shed light on how it is that issues of little practical significance became associated with centers of higher learning” is obvious. Often in academia are discussed highly theoretical issues that seem trivial to the vast majority of the population. For example, in string theory, are there seven or twelve dimensions? (I’m taking off the top of my head here, I don’t know that my example is valid.) The average Joe Blow in the street might have difficulty in understanding how this would apply to his everyday life.
Arnold, Arnold, Arnold… (shaking head)
I agree with you that the derivation seems obvious, but I’ve thought that about a whole host of things that have been proven untrue by The Straight Dope. It doesn’t do any good here to make assumptions, to pass on guesses, or to re-relate stories one remembers or one has heard before. We triumph over ignorance by going and looking things up, providing the cold, hard evidence necessary to make sure everyone realizes that the figure in the window isn’t a boy, it’s a cutout, or that the reason for the hole in the lid of the Kiwi™ shoe polish cans is to let something evaporate out.
That’s why I call for evidence of the derivation.
OK, so where are all you people with the OEDs? I know you’re out there. So far I’ve been resisting buying one (aren’t they pricey), but I might have to if DSYoungEsq isn’t willing to recognize the excellence of my WAGs.
Yeah Arnold, otherwise we end up with another “the whole nine yards” issue.
Irishman, wouldn’t that be a good thing? I like those “whole nine yards” discussions. It encourages creativity and imagination (kilt fabric! ammunition rounds! wedding dresses!)
Sorry, Arnold, I don’t have an OED - but my Wholecloth Dictionary of Familiar Phrases says “it’s academic” came about because of a poker game in Boston.
It seems one Emik Randall, a native of Amsterdam, was visiting friends in the US and was invited to join in a poker game. The deck being used was one of those big print decks for the hard-of-seeing. Emik, who had never seen such a thing, held up the first pasteboard he was dealt and asked, “What the heck is this?” The gentleman to his left, a born and bred Bostonian, told him. “It’s a cahd, Emik!”
OK, I’m convinced. Another “whole nine yards” situation cold quickly turn ugly. (Emik?)
I fail to see what the practical purpose of jumping down the throat of a person who has just made his 1st (and possibly last) post here would be.
peace
Thanks for the question ej8 and welcome to the board!
But it’s a moot point, anyway…
Is a clarification for the term “it’s a moot point”.
Few people knew a moot was a teaching exercise mock trial.
Yes, I realise this.
The point of my joking post was this:
‘It’s a moot point’ and ‘it’s accademic’ have the same figurative meaning, and similar literal meanings. The derivation is probably similar.
I was on It’s Academic my senior year of high school. The bad news was that we lost in our only appearance on TV. The good news is that our coach took us out to a local pizzeria afterwards, and I have been a fan of that pizza ever since…