one of those things

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English

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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one of those things (plural not attested)

  1. (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.
  2. (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."

Translations

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