# Why do I say this phrase all the time? The phrase: "The thing is..."
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-say-this-phrase-all-the-time-the-phrase-the-thing-is/385372
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [December 23, 2006, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-say-this-phrase-all-the-time-the-phrase-the-thing-is/385372 "2006-12-23T20:01:19Z")
**Posts on this page:** 16
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@beckiemoriello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beckiemoriello)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2006, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-say-this-phrase-all-the-time-the-phrase-the-thing-is/385372/1 "2006-12-23T20:01:19Z")
I hadn’t noticed until some friends called me on it.
Why do I say this before I’m about to explain something?
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### Author:  [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2006, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-say-this-phrase-all-the-time-the-phrase-the-thing-is/385372/2 "2006-12-23T20:03:07Z")
The thing is that we all have our own little phrases and turns of speech that for some reason have embedded themselves in our speech centres. Usually, only others notice; you just subconsciously think that it’s a really good way to phrase what you’re trying to convey.
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### Author:  [@beckiemoriello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beckiemoriello)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2006, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-say-this-phrase-all-the-time-the-phrase-the-thing-is/385372/3 "2006-12-23T20:07:59Z")
Fair enough, **Priceguy**. Thanks!
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### Author:  [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2006, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-say-this-phrase-all-the-time-the-phrase-the-thing-is/385372/4 "2006-12-23T20:13:09Z")
I wish I could explain it but I’m unable. I have a coworker who “turns around” a lot.
She says it all the time. My boss made fun of her once and told her she must spend most her time quite dizzy. Luckily, she is not only aware that she says it, but she thinks it’s kinda funny that she can’t stop saying it.
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### Author:  [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2006, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-say-this-phrase-all-the-time-the-phrase-the-thing-is/385372/5 "2006-12-23T20:32:06Z")
Just don’t start saying “The thing is, is that…”
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### Author:  [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2006, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-say-this-phrase-all-the-time-the-phrase-the-thing-is/385372/6 "2006-12-23T21:44:41Z")
My SO does this very thing with any statement. For questions, he prefaces the utterance with "Question: " You can hear the colon.
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### Author:  [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2006, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-say-this-phrase-all-the-time-the-phrase-the-thing-is/385372/7 "2006-12-23T22:43:34Z")
[QUOTE=zagloba]
Just don’t start saying “The thing is, is that…”
[/QUOTE]
Amen! Also, don’t start ending sentences with “'n’at”.
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### Author:  [@St\_Ides](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St_Ides)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2006, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-say-this-phrase-all-the-time-the-phrase-the-thing-is/385372/8 "2006-12-23T23:43:57Z")
[QUOTE=capybara]
You can hear the colon.
[/QUOTE]
… They should probably get a doctor to check that out.
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### Author:  [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)
#### Post date: [December 24, 2006, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-say-this-phrase-all-the-time-the-phrase-the-thing-is/385372/9 "2006-12-24T01:18:04Z")
[Richie Brockelman]The thing of it is, is…[/RB]
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### Author:  [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)
#### Post date: [December 24, 2006, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-say-this-phrase-all-the-time-the-phrase-the-thing-is/385372/10 "2006-12-24T01:39:04Z")
Well, you see…
It’s like this…
Here’s the deal…
It’s probably your way of giving yourself an extra minute or two to decide what to say.
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### Author:  [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)
#### Post date: [December 24, 2006, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-say-this-phrase-all-the-time-the-phrase-the-thing-is/385372/11 "2006-12-24T02:09:50Z")
I call them “thinkin’ words.” As **Thudlow** pointed out, it’s a way to give yourself a mental moment to organize your thoughts and work out the way you want to phrase them. I suppose you could consider them the wordsmith’s “Um.” They’re just phrases you’ve committed to rote memory so you can pull them out without even thinking whenever you need a moment to shuffle your mental papers. This frees your mind to consider the response at hand.
I keep a stock of them on hand for just such occasions.
“The thing is…”
“Well, here’s the thing…”
“Here’s how it works…”
“It’s like this…”
“The way I see it…”
“It occurs to me that…”
…and when all else fails and I just can’t organize my thoughts in time…
“Um…”
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### Author:  [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)
#### Post date: [December 24, 2006, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-say-this-phrase-all-the-time-the-phrase-the-thing-is/385372/12 "2006-12-24T03:55:30Z")
What they said. I went through a phase when I said “Be that as it may…” in response to virtually any assertion with which I disagreed; it drove my sister batty. Most young trial lawyers are horrified when they get their first trial transcript back, and see all the “Ums,” “Uhs” and “You knows” they said (unless a sympathetic court reporter omitted them). Try listening more actively to yourself, or choosing your words more carefully, and you can shake verbal tics like that.
The thing is, you have to work at it!
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### Author:  [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)
#### Post date: [December 24, 2006, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-say-this-phrase-all-the-time-the-phrase-the-thing-is/385372/13 "2006-12-24T10:50:39Z")
The thing is, what you’re doing is pointing out what you think the REAL issue is here, as opposed to the b.s. that’s been discussed so far. You’re clarifying. You’re focusing the discussion. You’re shifting the discourse onto the true topic.
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### Author:  [@Emily\_Litella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emily_Litella)
#### Post date: [December 24, 2006, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-say-this-phrase-all-the-time-the-phrase-the-thing-is/385372/14 "2006-12-24T14:12:12Z")
My dad does the same thing with the word “Basically…”. It signals that he’s about to say something long winded.
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### Author:  [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abby_Emma_Sasha)
#### Post date: [December 24, 2006, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-say-this-phrase-all-the-time-the-phrase-the-thing-is/385372/15 "2006-12-24T15:08:16Z")
I have a habit of saying “What I mean is…” and it’s pretty redundant. I fully admit that it’s annoying to friends and family members but I can’t help saying it. I do try, though, really. What I mean is, I need to get a better vocabulary.
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### Author:  [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)
#### Post date: [December 24, 2006, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-say-this-phrase-all-the-time-the-phrase-the-thing-is/385372/16 "2006-12-24T15:17:49Z")
Know’m’sayin’?