Some statements have a remarkable ability of benumbing the brain with their odiousness. I have been secretly carrying out an empirical search with the objective of identifying the most repugnant of clichés. The investigation is expected to continue till the end of time or me, whichever is earlier, but I’ll spill the beans by declaring a provisional winner…by a huge margin.
Been there, done that.
(Henceforth, used interchangeably with ‘The Hearing’)
One of the most horrendously malignant, hopelessly overused, and unbearably nauseating of the clichés that I have been subjected to over the decades; in my humble and (mostly useless) opinion.
The Hearing is commonplace in a congregation of Intelligentsia – who through various weighted combinations of dogged determination, ancestral bequests and doses of good fortune – have done a commendable job (truly) of transferring Papers of Value in one direction, from others unto themselves.
The scene might be a coffee/beer table with liberal representation of the Intelligentsia. Each takes turn extolling his/her virtues and accomplishments with a hopefully-subtle speech intended at tooting one’s own horn, while simultaneously hoping the others don’t take notice. (Of course, the others don’t notice). Once everyone else in the group dutifully does the same their healthy camaraderie is seen in the concluding line:
‘Oh! Been there, done that.’
The unwelcome utterance of The Hearing is almost always accompanied by a smug one-leg-on-top-of-the-other posture, head thrown back for piercing effect. The unfortunate inclusion of Average Man to this distinguished assemblage triggers a Hearing onslaught. The hapless Average Man rolls his eyes – less in admiration and more out of camouflaged dismay at the misplaced hubris – and hopes to seek asylum in the world of silence.
Any attempts at conversation by Average Man post the Hearing(s) is followed by a voluntary sermon session by the Intelligentsia, with the dual objective of highlighting the futility of Average Man’s endeavours and downplaying their own achievements, ending with a been-there-done-that. All over again. The Hearing serves as an advance warning to Average Man of the impending failure of his attempts at engaging the Intelligentsia’s concentration. Who cares about Average Man anyway?
Another common setting conducive to the Hearing is a conversation with a couple-friend, minus one half of the couple. Friendly banter is frequently interspersed with reminders of the absent partner’s many unknown talents. ‘(S)He has been there, done that…’ The absent partner serves as a wonderful catalyst for The Hearing.
Another instance is when a young human (hapless, of course) finds him/herself in the company of humans more advanced in years. The young human is so bombarded with the Hearing he struggles to keep pace with who’s been where and done what. The complexity is augmented when the young human is heavily outnumbered by the more-advanced-in-years pack. In such instances, the young human is well advised to search for a quick exit (unless they want to hang around for the amusement).
A final instance comes from the wannabe (…no, what an uncouth word.). Well, the sniff-happy drug-addict-hopefuls-who-flunked-the-drug-test group. A few sniffs here, few furtive trials there and this group carries with it a fine sense of achievement. Of having ‘been there, done that’. Amen.
Been where, done what?
Mental torture by clichés is beyond culpability. Should the law change in the future, The Hearing could make the cut. The Hearing is noxious when used as a medium for conveying hubris, indulgent self-gloating and as an unwanted ingredient in social banter. Admittedly, The Hearing is often used with harmless intentions. However, those occasions would be too drab to write about.
But all is not lost. The Hearing serves as a worthy subject for dark humour. On most occasions, rather than stressing a sense of purported achievements and sagacity, The Hearing amusingly highlights the delusion content of the speaker’s utterances. Delusion is one of humour’s best pals. All is forgiven.
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Do I hear been there, seen/done that from you, my dear Reader, after reading the above?
You have company.
Haphazard Linkages 
You are not making any friends, are you? 😀 Now, I hear you say, “Been there, done that.”
Liked it! BTW, do words qualify for the Hackneyed Hall? If so, I would like to nominate Intelligentsia. Speaking of, how come you always find yourself surrounded by them at coffee tables? You need to associate a bit more with me instead 🙂
Nomination accepted.
I’d pull the group average down, while you’d tend to pull it up. Net-net, we’d be back to square 1. But you are one of the ‘good Intelligentsia’, by a long way!
I can’t believe you are saying all that, but thank you. Fortunately, you are wrong and I don’t qualify for that group. YOU would pull the average down? LSE is shivering as we speak 😉
🙂
Whaaat’s happeneing here? Ahh, Hemant is complaining about people being stoopid. …Been there, done that.
With you, S and me…we’ve ‘been there, done that’ a kazillion times!