Definition:

"Same old, same old."

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"Everything is normal. There is nothing special or exciting happening."

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Application:

People use this expression as a response when others ask them

how they are. This response informs others that the speaker is

bored and / or dissatisfied.

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Example:

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Amanda:  "Hey, Donald. How's it going?”

Donald:     "Same old, same old. How are you guys doing?"

Melissa:    "We're going to visit Japan next month!"

Donald:     "Wow, that's great! Wish I could go..."

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Notes:

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1. Literature Reference: Author Andre Kocsis uses this expression in a 2012 short story for The New Orphic Review, "Crossing," to describe two characters catching up:

"What's been happening?"

"Same old, same old. Bush is threatening Iran to get people's minds off the fact that he ruined the U.S. economy." 

  

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2. Media Reference #1: Journalist Sam Sifton uses this expression in an October 2nd, 2020 article for The New York Times, entitled "What to Cook This Weekend," to describe a recipe: "The recipe, which sees the potatoes cooked beneath a crust of salt that’s flavored with rosemary and pink peppercorns and served with a similarly flavored compound butter, would make for a show-stopping side dish this weekend for a family sick of the last six months of same-old, same-old." (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/02/dining/what-to-cook-this-weekend.html)  

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3. Media Reference #2: Journalist Maureen Corrigan uses this expression in a July 30th, 2020 NPR piece (" A Mean Ghost Story And A Souped-Up Crime Novel Will Wise You Up Fast") to recommend a book: "Like The Aunt Who Wouldn't Die, Blacktop Wasteland could be initially mistaken for the same old, same old. But it's the kind of novel that wises a reader up fast." (https://www.npr.org/transcripts/893517798) (At 6 minutes and 3 seconds into the broadcast.)

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4. Media Reference #3: Dean Norris's character of Hank Schrader uses this expression in season 4, episode 11 of the television series Breaking Bad ("Crawl Space") to describe frustration with the status of a criminal investigation: "Yeah, like watching weeds grow. Yeah, this job can be boring as hell -until it's not... No, same old, same old." (At 21 minutes and 59 seconds into the episode. Originally aired September 25th, 2011.)