one of those things
English
editPronunciation
editAudio (General Australian): (file)
Noun
editone of those things (plural not attested)
- (idiomatic, often preceded by just) An unfortunate, but unavoidable, event.
- It was just one of those things: I spent an hour in traffic and then found that the shop was closed.
- (idiomatic, often preceded by just) A strange or surprising event for which an explanation is unavailable or not worth pursuing.
- 1959, Isaac Asimov, Words of Science, page 227:
- The moral to this story is that the good research scientist pays strict attention to any peculiar event and does not shrug off a mystery as just "one of those things."