This phrase drives me insane!!

[Verbena17]

Am i the only one who’s really bothered when I hear someone say….
”……if that makes sense?”

😩😩😩
Why on Earth does someone explain something (usually really simply) and then add onto the end ‘if that makes sense?’

I’m like ‘yes of course it makes bloody sense because you’ve just explained the most simple piece of information I’ve ever heard!
I’m just watching a recipe on YouTube and the woman said “you have to cook the potatoes for 10 minutes first because they take longer to bake, and you don’t want to get raw potatoes…..if that makes sense?”

Does my head in!
Influencers are always doing it 😩, it’s as if they think their explanation of the most basic of tasks might be way over our heads!
Sunday night rant over 😂

hmm, I see why in your example it's annoying, but I use it when I'm working with adults and I want to check they've understood something but without being patronising, I'm trying to convey
'have you understood? if not, it's probably my fault, not yours, I'll explain it a different way if it doesn't make sense'

Yes, it is annoying! It's said all the time. If you tell it properly it will make sense!

”It is what it is.” Totally meaningless

Akin to "it is what it is"...

If it wasn't what it is, then it wouldn't be what it is... if that makes sense 😎

I often hear the same repetitive filler expressions coming from my son's phone as he watches tiktok, and I notice them frequently on YouTube as well. I guess it's a reflection of the language patterns and slang that are popular in current culture. I have this theory that in hundred years time Americans and Britons will sound pretty much identical with like 70% of like our speech like consisting of like filler words, dya get what I mean?

Really? I think it’s possibly one of the most patronising phrases there is 😬😂

It’s a waste of words. What’s the point in saying it?!

I use it the same was as newtlover. I spend a lot of work time explaining complex business processes to technical development people and vice versa, trying to speak both languages at the same time. I often use it to check both sides have understood the requirements/limitations.

People usually use it as shorthand for 'we can't do anything about this so we'll have to live with it/make the best of it".

Oh yeah I sort of see.

I say it when I've struggled to articulate what I mean. It's usually when I've written something by email and I'm not sure that what I've said makes sense.

My DH pointed out I do this . I did not know. In fact I had no clue. I did not know it was a common language trait either. He says I say it all the time.

I try not to.

I'm a teacher and have been so for 20 years so I think it is just want to check I have been clear/ lack of confidence.

Who knows

Does that make sense?

I hate "it is what it is"

I have adhd, and often the way I communicate because of my neurodiversity means that although I understand the way I explain something, others may not. I think in a different way and highlight different aspects of a situation, as I often think about things in the way they relate to each other. I also often jump around quickly from one thing to the next in my thought processes and the links I see aren't always evident to others. So I generally say "does that make sense" when I talk to people to prevent us both thinking we have agreed to different things. I also over explain everything.

Have to say, ‘does that make sense?’ doesn’t actually bother me as much as
’If that makes sense?’

There’s something more patronising-sounding in the latter.

I think the version that pees me off most isn’t when someone like a teacher is asking if a student understands something, it’s more online influencers for example….giving you a run down of a very basic task that every man and their dog can do but then asks ‘if that makes sense’.

Not many other things in life annoy me though 😂

That’s the most annoying one! Utterly pointless.

I use 'if that makes sense'all the time. It's to do with my perimenopausal scatterbrain, rather than those I am talking to. I increasingly worry I am not expressing myself with clarity, which needs to be addressed if it's to my A-level class, where we tie ourselves up in knots with complex interpretation and analysis. I ask them if I am making sense because sometimes I genuinely wonder if I am!

I know a couple of people who use this phrase as punctuation, scattered liberally in between every sentence they speak regardless of what they are talking about. It really pisses me off.

I would say it if I've been explaining something because I know I have a slightly quirky brain and what makes sense in my head doesn't always make sense when it comes out of my mouth (if that makes sense 😄)

I say it rather than "do you understand" because I find that a bit patronising, and "if that makes sense" to me is me admitting that it may be my fault in how I explained it rather than them being not clever/thinking/whatever enough to understand.

I'm getting irritated reading the word 'chill' everywhere, rather than 'chilled'.

"My DH is really chill about things".

"My job is really chill".

What happened to the ED on the end?? 🤬🤬

Oooh that feels better 🤭

And that is what I’m talking about!

Oh yes!! That’s annoying too.

Yes, OP, I absolutely hate it.

What they mean is "do you understand?" and I wish they would just say that.

When they say "does that make sense?" I'm always tempted to say "well, if you're not sure, do you want to have a wee think and give it another go?"

If it doesn't make sense, don't bloody say it!!

I don't mind that so much.

It means "don't try and read anymore into it", "nothing can be done", a kind of acceptance.

Yes, agree.

I think there are a few other words which people do similar with...can't remember them off the top of my head.

I use "does that make sense" all the time. Explaining technical concepts to non technical people. Hadn't considered it to be annoying - will ask my colleagues tomorrow.
I would interchange with is that clear. It feels softer some how than do you understand.