English is a rich language full of nuance. It is also vast and a little eccentric. My dear wife often complains to me about the number of synonyms, which she finds frustrating. Of course, I find this trove of potential words wonderful. The language brims with choice.

By way of example, take the windscreen on a car. The other day on the way home, Ann told me that the mirror was dirty. I was clear that she meant the windscreen. "You mean there's a different word for this," she said, indicating the windscreen, "and this?" she continued, pointing to the rear-view mirror.

I told her that one was a windscreen, a window in the front of the car, and the other was a mirror. One was reflective, the other designed to be seen through. In Thailand, she reported back, there is only one word for mirror and window and windscreen. Difference is indicated by context. Well good to get that learnt, I thought. But where is the room for a Shakespeare in that system? I kept the last sentence to myself, fearing violent retribution.

English may offer more latitude for expression than Thai but it still throws up the most annoying usage. Consider the sentence, "It is what it is." I don't know who first coined this gem (perhaps the same wordsmith who first wrote, "Life's a bitch and then you die.") but it deserves an early burial. Ostensibly a poor cousin of "That's life" or "Such is life", it suffers from having none of the latter's mildly melancholic overtones. Ned Kelly might be forgiven for being so brief, as he did have a noose around his neck at the time.

"It is what it is" is a lazy copout for people who don't want to think about a more complex response. It forbids further analysis and shuts down inquiry. English is such a rich language and a mind is a powerful and marvelous tool. Please engage the former with the latter.