Something went wrong. Try again later
    Follow

    Jeff Gerstmann

    Person » credited in 4 games

    Jeff Gerstmann is the co-founder and former Editor-in-Chief of Giant Bomb as well as a professional video game scientist and anime expert.

    It's one of those things where...

    • 53 results
    • 1
    • 2
    Avatar image for misterwaingro
    MisterWaingro

    72

    Forum Posts

    258

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 6

    #1  Edited By MisterWaingro

    Has anyone else noticed Jeff says "it's one of those things where..." at least once in every thing he does for the site? I've been a fan of his since the Gamespot days, and I've listened to every episode of the Bombcast, and I don't know when this started, but since I've noticed (maybe like a year and a half ago?), not a thing he's in has gone by without that phrase being uttered.

    Bells go off in my brain when I hear Jeff say this phrase, and I wonder if it happens for anyone else.

    IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE

    Avatar image for splodge
    splodge

    3309

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    Everyone has phrases or words they repeat all the time. It's just a natural function of language. If you were to record yourself in conversation for an entire day with your friends, you would be amazed by how often you repeat phrases, stutter, say uhhhhhhhhhhhh or huh or whatever else.

    But yes he does say that a lot.

    Avatar image for poisonjam7
    poisonjam7

    540

    Forum Posts

    1838

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 1

    User Lists: 27

    It's like Dan bringing up Wrestling/Metal Gear in just about every conversation he is in.

    Avatar image for dalai
    Dalai

    7868

    Forum Posts

    955

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 3

    User Lists: 0

    Huh.

    Never actually noticed that.

    Avatar image for luciddreams117
    LucidDreams117

    912

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    Reminds me how Alex always says "He's not wrong you know" which is an awesome saying. I gotta start using it.

    Avatar image for deactivated-5a4ea8fdbe490
    deactivated-5a4ea8fdbe490

    401

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    Intresting....

    Avatar image for kasaioni
    kasaioni

    2397

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    It's one of those things where people are trying to direct their thoughts and concentrate the conversation in a directed manner.

    Avatar image for beachthunder
    BeachThunder

    15269

    Forum Posts

    318676

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 30

    #8  Edited By BeachThunder

    Yep, I noticed, it's even something that I've started inadvertently saying myself :|

    Avatar image for bisonhero
    BisonHero

    12787

    Forum Posts

    625

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 1

    User Lists: 2

    I catch myself frequently using "basically" with far more frequency than any other similar word such as "simply" or "in summary" or whatever. Sometimes I will catch myself using it multiple times in one sentence. It gets bad.

    Avatar image for jasonr86
    JasonR86

    10468

    Forum Posts

    449

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 17

    User Lists: 5

    #10  Edited By JasonR86

    It's just one of those things you know?

    Avatar image for Levius
    Levius

    1358

    Forum Posts

    357

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 2

    I had a thing recently where I would insert "To be fair" in front or at the end of almost any sentence. Its one of those things that make you realise how much often your brain runs on autopilot.

    Avatar image for l4wd0g
    l4wd0g

    2395

    Forum Posts

    353

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 7

    #12  Edited By l4wd0g

    It's a linguistic idiosyncrasy.

    Avatar image for philedius
    Philedius

    241

    Forum Posts

    25

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    Also "at some point..."

    Avatar image for blackout62
    Blackout62

    2241

    Forum Posts

    84

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 11

    #14  Edited By Blackout62
    @poisonjam7 said:

    It's like Dan bringing up Wrestling/Metal Gear in just about every conversation he is in.

    "I'll take that." -Dan Ryckert term of admittance.

    Avatar image for geirr
    geirr

    4166

    Forum Posts

    717

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 1

    User Lists: 5

    My "trigger sentence" is how often they, especially Patrick and Alex during their podcast thing (RIP), said "You know..". In some cases a normal sentence would be riddled with super fast "you know!"s which I guess is there to replace "uh.." and "umm".

    You know, when the game, you know, tells you to, you know, go out and explore the world.

    In some cases it would be uttered so fast it was just "y'ow!" which was super scary!

    My awesome American wife told me it's just something some Americans do, so, you know, it's okay but it had me bewildered and scared for some time.

    Avatar image for slag
    Slag

    8308

    Forum Posts

    15965

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 8

    User Lists: 45

    You know at the end of the day, well it's one of those things where ostensibly we all do it. Is what it is.

    Avatar image for crembaw
    Crembaw

    894

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    He says it so often that it has actually crept back into my mode of speech.

    Avatar image for dadjumper
    dadjumper

    272

    Forum Posts

    10

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    I dunno if I ever noticed it. I did notice, especially early in the bombcast, that Brad would inexplicably use the expression "long tail" almost every episode, even though he said it with chagrin every single time.

    Avatar image for svenzon
    Svenzon

    946

    Forum Posts

    9

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 21

    @geirr said:

    In some cases it would be uttered so fast it was just "y'ow!" which was super scary!

    Gary Butterfield of Watch Out for Fireballs does that and to me it always sounds like he says "Yo!".

    Avatar image for geraltitude
    GERALTITUDE

    5991

    Forum Posts

    8980

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 17

    User Lists: 2

    Yep. Everyone does it.

    I always find myself going "AND THEY CALL IT A MINE... A MINE!"

    Avatar image for naoiko
    Naoiko

    1680

    Forum Posts

    2703

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 2

    #21  Edited By Naoiko

    I never noticed it before but your right. Weird! =)

    Avatar image for shadowswordmaster
    ShadowSwordmaster

    1119

    Forum Posts

    714

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 1

    Now you mention it. He does say it a lot.

    Avatar image for 49th
    49th

    3988

    Forum Posts

    26

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 5

    Huh.

    Avatar image for csl316
    csl316

    17001

    Forum Posts

    765

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 10

    #24  Edited By csl316

    I dunno, man. People have their go-to phrases.

    Like mine's "I dunno, man" when I acknowledge something that other people find weird or worth pointing out.

    Avatar image for afabs515
    afabs515

    2005

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    Yes actually I have. I could also swear that I remember a really similar thread happening sometime last year about some other speaking habit the bomb crew has/had, but I can't quite remember what it was...

    Avatar image for captaincody
    CaptainCody

    1551

    Forum Posts

    56

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    That's doable.

    Avatar image for davidmerrick
    davidmerrick

    222

    Forum Posts

    36

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    #27  Edited By davidmerrick

    Mine are "indeed," "I see," "ah," "to be fair," "fair enough," etc.

    I am a very conciliatory person.

    Avatar image for dan_citi
    Dan_CiTi

    5598

    Forum Posts

    308

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 2

    They have all had a bunch of those for years. Not news.

    Avatar image for mosespippy
    mosespippy

    4751

    Forum Posts

    2163

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 4

    User Lists: 8

    Yep, I noticed, it's even something that I've started inadvertently saying myself :|

    @crembaw said:

    He says it so often that it has actually crept back into my mode of speech.

    Fun fact: this phenomenon of acquiring the mannerisms of the people around you through extended exposure is called meme. It's the original meaning of the word.

    Avatar image for misterwaingro
    MisterWaingro

    72

    Forum Posts

    258

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 6

    On a whim, I decided to mark down when he says it in the past few days of content I've seen/listened to. Based on this small sample, I can say with authority that dude says "it's one of those things where" a whole bunch on any given week.

    UPF 2/20/15 - 54:03; 1:04:40; 1:13:58

    Giant Bombcast 2/17/15- 1:02:41 "One of those cases where..."; 1:13:13; 1:32:56; 2:18:16

    Dead or Alive 5 Last Round - One of those things where CLEAR

    Powerbombcast Episode 16 - 21:31; 54:21; 1:02:53 "One of those things"; 1:18:46; 1:23:10

    Quick Look: The Order: 1866 - 13:02 & 13:10 "One of those things"; 15:39; 38:57;

    The Taller The Jar, The Sweeter The Questions 2/22/2015: 9:15; 10:35; 12:29; 13:46; 14:49; 24:32 "One of those things that"; 25:48; 31:37 "One of those cases where"; 33:34; 37:17 "One of those things that"; 46:28;

    It wouldn't bother me so much if it wasn't such a nothing phrase. It adds nothing to whatever he's talking about. It's kind of maddening. JEFF, STOP SAYING "IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE..."

    Avatar image for krevee
    Krevee

    190

    Forum Posts

    587

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 8

    I never noticed it before, but now I will notice it constantly.

    Avatar image for theht
    TheHT

    15998

    Forum Posts

    1562

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 1

    User Lists: 9

    @slag said:

    You know at the end of the day, well it's one of those things where ostensibly we all do it. Is what it is.

    Huh.

    Avatar image for katiedey
    katiedey

    129

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    #33  Edited By katiedey

    commenting because i googled "jeff gerstmann it's one of those things" and this popped up. drives me crazy but doesn't stop me from lovin the guy. yknow at some point it's one of those things where that stuff is so weird that it's like a hot nightmare garbage mess, right?

    Avatar image for ripelivejam
    ripelivejam

    13572

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    Just chiming in to say i appreciate brad's semi regular use of the word "clandestine" and phrase "fly by night"

    Avatar image for ghost_cat
    ghost_cat

    2840

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    It makes me kind of sad that Jeff doesn't laugh as much anymore.

    Avatar image for cerberus3dog
    cerberus3dog

    1030

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    #36  Edited By cerberus3dog

    It honestly makes me smile.

    "Obstensibly"

    "use case"

    "huh."

    "interesting..."

    Avatar image for spoonman671
    Spoonman671

    5874

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    "Same-type-deal"

    It's not even a proper phrase.

    Avatar image for donutfever
    DonutFever

    4057

    Forum Posts

    1959

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 35

    "(last thing said) is the name of my new (genre) band."

    Avatar image for kcin
    kcin

    1145

    Forum Posts

    9

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    Does no one else feel that threads like these are gross and weird?

    Avatar image for josephknows
    JosephKnows

    500

    Forum Posts

    13043

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 1

    User Lists: 18

    @kcin: if i know anything about the internet and people asking if they're the only person who feels or thinks about one thing, yes, you are literally the only person who feels that way about this one thing

    I certainly am not, because this is just what years of consuming and observing the content they produce for the public brings out. People start noticing verbal tics. You have a problem with people doing impressions of celebrities or, hell, even just people they know personally? None of these observations get into the personal life of Jeff. It's all public and directed at the very users here on this site. It's not like we're here talking about what goes on in Jeff's house or what he gets up to with his family and friends outside of Giant Bomb.

    Avatar image for badseed
    badseed

    234

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 5

    Is there a giant bomb drinking game?

    Take one shot whenever Dan mentions wrestling

    Avatar image for jaycrockett
    jaycrockett

    873

    Forum Posts

    80

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 13

    User Lists: 5

    It's one of those things where if you been listening to someone talk on a podcast for years and years, you pick up on changes to their speech patterns. Jeff does say it more than he used to. Doesn't really bother me. He seems to say "I don't know, I don't know" I lot more too, that one I seem to notice more.

    Avatar image for kcin
    kcin

    1145

    Forum Posts

    9

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    @josephknows: These threads feel significantly more personal than a celebrity impression. They are largely critical and suggest an unrealistic expectation of the individual, to diversify their vocabulary to a standard to which the critic doesn't hold their self. It is a dissection of the minutiae of a person's character, and the general opinion is typically "I don't like it". It feels gross. That is how I feel.

    Thus far, I am the only person to express a distaste for this type of thread. My question still stands, seemingly in spite of your unnecessary comment about perceived internet trends.

    Avatar image for artisanbreads
    ArtisanBreads

    9107

    Forum Posts

    154

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 2

    User Lists: 6

    #44  Edited By ArtisanBreads

    Ostensibly he does.

    (None of these words or phrases they use often bothers me besides that one because it's used incorrectly almost every time they use it).

    Just chiming in to say i appreciate brad's semi regular use of the word "clandestine" and phrase "fly by night"

    I like "fly by night" too. Reminds me of Ryan often saying "skunkworks" which Brad uses sometimes too.

    Avatar image for counterclockwork87
    Counterclockwork87

    1162

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    I think it's about time we bring back "visceral," they use all these other phrases too often.

    Avatar image for pkjr92
    pkjr92

    71

    Forum Posts

    14

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    @kcin: Not at all. We're not negatively criticizing Jeff, just making humorous observations. This isn't one of those 'I Hate Patrick' threads, those I absolutely think were weird.

    The guys are all personalities, and that's why most of us like them and the site. Ignoring or being silent about their personalities kind of mitigates them in a way. As long as we're not hating on them, I don't see the harm in pointing out funny quirks.

    Avatar image for tiffanytryhard
    tiffanytryhard

    336

    Forum Posts

    0

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    My old boss in retail used to say "it's one of those things where" all that time, didn't really annoy me. I expect we all have our meaningless slogans. I've been saying "but what are you going to do" a lot lately, and I'm trying to stop because it's such a useless phrase. In the future we'll all talk like John Madden.

    "Now here's a guy who's about to talk about video games."

    Avatar image for ll_exile_ll
    ll_Exile_ll

    3382

    Forum Posts

    25

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 2

    Weird.

    Avatar image for josephknows
    JosephKnows

    500

    Forum Posts

    13043

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 1

    User Lists: 18

    #49  Edited By JosephKnows

    @kcin said:

    @josephknows: These threads feel significantly more personal than a celebrity impression. They are largely critical and suggest an unrealistic expectation of the individual, to diversify their vocabulary to a standard to which the critic doesn't hold their self. It is a dissection of the minutiae of a person's character, and the general opinion is typically "I don't like it". It feels gross. That is how I feel.

    Thus far, I am the only person to express a distaste for this type of thread. My question still stands, seemingly in spite of your unnecessary comment about perceived internet trends.

    I'm usually the last person to ever accuse anybody of "reading into things too much", but yeah, that's exactly what's going on with you here.

    In fact, I distinctly remember a Bombcast episode where one user emailed them something like this where it pointed out the verbal tics of the guys. They just acknowledged it, laughed about it, and didn't fuss about it.

    Avatar image for kcin
    kcin

    1145

    Forum Posts

    9

    Wiki Points

    0

    Followers

    Reviews: 0

    User Lists: 0

    Alright. The Brad and Patrick ones are usually pretty fucked up, and so I generally think the practice of thinking reductively about their speech patterns is a double standard that is only really afforded in one-way relationships like those that being a fan of the site provides.

    I heard the email about this in the Bombcast, and hearing that guy regale them with their vocal rhythms was an unpleasant experience for me, as it reeks of a lack of social tact. You don't confront everyone in your friend circle with something like that, for example. Surely they have thick skin - they wouldn't be doing this still if they didn't, given the daily bullshit they must get flung their way - but being tough enough to deal with something doesn't necessarily make that something acceptable or, at least, not weird.

    This is a more positive thread than they typically are, so yes, I agree, in this case its just something being noticed.

    This edit will also create new pages on Giant Bomb for:

    Beware, you are proposing to add brand new pages to the wiki along with your edits. Make sure this is what you intended. This will likely increase the time it takes for your changes to go live.

    Comment and Save

    Until you earn 1000 points all your submissions need to be vetted by other Giant Bomb users. This process takes no more than a few hours and we'll send you an email once approved.