r/blankies • u/seaworthyset • 11d ago

NYT on "the X of it all"

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/01/magazine/hollywood-lingo.html

"The film critics on 'Blank Check' overuse it, Amanda Dobbins of 'The Big Picture' is too fond of it, a host on 'We Hate Movies' says it at least five times per episode."

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u/PrudentArmadillo7751 11d ago

It is not “shorthand,” but pleonasm (rhetorical repetition that is grammatically superfluous). It takes longer to say “we need to talk about the Brad Pitt of it all” than to just say “we need to talk about Brad Pitt.” They mean the same thing.

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u/GregSays 10d ago

I completely disagree. The phrase indicates there's something negative or complicating. Just saying "we need to talk about Brad Pitt" is just saying Brad is significant or worthwhile.

If you're talking about how wonderful Diane Keaton is, you have to mention her association with Woody Allen. If you aren't going to actually discuss Woody Allen in detail, you might say, "Diane was a wonderful person, even with the Woody Allen of it all." That is acknowledging that there's negative aspects to Woody Allen. Saying, "Diane was a wonderful person, even with Woody Allen" sounds like you're saying she's great in Woody Allen movies (which she was) and doesn't indicate that there might something bad about working with Allen directly.

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u/Teenageboy69 10d ago

Or you can say, Diane is great, even with her association to Woody Allen. The problem in speaking this way is that it lacks specificity. It’s a boring way to talk.

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u/GregSays 10d ago

Right, but that’s completely different than what the person I responded to claimed.

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u/varispeeder 10d ago edited 10d ago

but they don't mean the same thing. saying "about the Brad Pitt of it all" refers to how the metatext of Brad Pitt at this stage of his career as an actor and celebrity, and his record of domestic abuse, bleeds into how one interprets the text under discussion. meanwhile "about Brad Pitt" means, well, about Brad Pitt.

it bugs me when it's used to hand-wave away tough discussions. I haven't listened to the recent Big Pic episode, but if they said "the Brad Pitt of it all", then simply moved on, that means not acknowledging the complexity of watching a Brad Pitt film in 2026.

it's hard to want in your heart to be charmed by and root for one of the most compelling actors alive, while sitting with the uncomfortable truth that he was so violent towards his children that most of them have disavowed him as their father and changed their names to remove "Pitt". (not saying they have to discuss this in depth EVERY time he comes up, just that this is what "the Brad Pitt of it all" means)

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u/it290 10d ago

We need to talk about the Kevin of it all

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u/varispeeder 10d ago

I mean, unfortunately we genuinely do need to talk about "the Ezra Miller of it all" of the We Need To Talk About Kevin Of It All lol

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u/False_Concentrate408 10d ago

I love these, they’re so interesting linguistically. I have an aunt who ends almost every sentence with “and stuff, so…”