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 😂

I can totally understand the annoyance at "it is what it is" etc, just words that mean nothing and full up a conversation that's obviously lacking in the first place.

But I use "if that makes sense?" Quite a lot, because it's my way of asking "am I understandable here?" It's my way of saying to the other person "I hope you understand what IM saying", and takes the pressure off them kind of thing!?

I see your 'chill' and raise you 'bias'. As in 'I think my daughter is the most talented, beautiful being ever, but I may be bias'.

I definitely think it (like many current language quirks, incl the much-bemoaned 'should of', which I don't like and don't use but can't get morally exercised about) has something to do with quickly rendering spoken language in written form - the 'ed' does get a bit swallowed at the ends of words in a lot of accents. Tbh I think we ought to be pleased, overall, that we have democratised written communication. It would make sense (sorry!), I think, to teach these sorts of errors in secondary school English - analysing online writing and trying to spot the 'mistakes'.

'If that makes sense' or 'does that make sense?' is much less abrasive and superior than 'do you understand?' or 'is that clear?' It's a politeness move - rhetorically putting the burden of clear expression on the speaker rather than the burden of understanding on the listener. 'If that's clear enough' is perhaps an alternative.

OP, if I hear that in a cooking show context it will probably replace my former pet peeve, which was the chefs saying stuff like: "What I'm actually doing here is I'm chopping the carrots into batons" - no shit Sherlock. So stupid. But tacking an "if that makes sense" at the end of that would be even stupider.

And as per a PP I hate random capitals. This is not the Title of an 18th century Thesis on whatever You Think.

I am with you op, this has been niggling at me for some time. Obviously if you're teaching etc. or explaining something complicated it's a totally valid expression, but "I'm buying the blue dress because blue suits me better, if that makes sense" just has me wanting to reply "no, can you run that by me again?"

I had a boss who used to say ‘does that make sense?’ Every time he responded to a question.
Our team took the piss so much and would say it to each other.
‘Raj have you got a stapler?’
‘There’s one in that top drawer. Does that make sense?’ 😁

"It is what it is" refers to a situation you can't change. Sometimes expressions are not meant to be taken literally. If that makes sense?

"you couldn't write it"

Arrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ! 😡

We’ll yes it’s annoying in the example you’ve given but it has its place.

The work I do is very mathematically technical so I often say this when delegating work to new team members and new graduates. It gives them the opportunity to say no when maybe they might have just pretended to understand.

I was recently chatting to someone I’d not met before at a class. She must’ve said it at least 4 times in a short conversation along the lines of where do you work, are you enjoying the class etc. It was horrendous!

Yes, I use it for exactly the same reason at work. When you're having to impart complicated information to a mixed group, it's a friendly way to ask if anyone wants something explaining in different terms - I can't assume the language I use is always clear to everyone. It puts the focus on me to try again because I didn't get it right for everyone, rather than the person who isn't sure of what I said.

This reminds me of the TV show, Miranda, were her mum used to say, for example:

"It's what I call 'comfort food'"

It's not YOU that calls it comfort food. It IS comfort food!!!

'obviously'

people often misuse this and stick it in a sentence where the thing they are talking about is not at all obvious-

I went to the shops and obviously I bought some apples

Last night I was watching TV, obviously, and East Enders was on

No, its not bloody obvious !

Stop listening the influencers, then. In civilian usage, it’s perfectly ordinary when used to sense-check a complicated concept.

There are SO many phrases which I find annoying -

Does my head in
Can't get my head round it
At the end of the day
Off of
It is what it is
Got the ick

and so many more - I'd be here for ages if I thought of them all

I think of "I text" as the same as "I read". Works for both present and past tense.

Also "it is what it is" is a brilliant phrase to curtail someone's moaning when you're bored by it, or if you disagree, but don't want to discuss it.

I hate that "literally" now means "metaphorically" i.e. the opposite of literally.

e.g "I literally died when he said that omg!!!"

Same when Americans say "I could care less" when they mean the exact opposite of that.

‘Does that make sense?’ Appears to be the new replacement to making every sentence sound like a question.

That came from Aussie soaps, but also links to trying to downplay your own authority …sadly a female speech pattern trait.

It probably stems from a place of trying to look on the same level with someone, part of the group. Or an attempt to appear more approachable.

Yes my uncle (in his 70’s) says it.
I love him to bits but I think he uses it when he’s explaining something to someone he knows doesn’t know as much about a subject as he does 😬

Figuratively actually 😁

Yes …..and that does make sense 😉

Yes!!! This!

'As I said .......' when they haven't mentioned the topic previously at all!

'She caught The Covit'

Aks instead of ask

We was at .....

We is going to ......

Recommend me a ...... 😡

I use this and am quite comfortable with someone asking me, I don’t see it as some sort of negative someone having a go, more they are checking they have answered in a clear manner

Yes, or something along those lines. "Does that make sense to everyone?" It's normal where I work, we have to check understanding.