H- wrote:
MOP_Mike wrote:
I agree that "at the end of the day" is an overused corporate-speak phrase. But, how is it an attempt to make the speaker look smarter or more knowledgeable?
I always took it to mean "after all is said and done" or "to summarize".
Yes, it means "to summarize" to some extent, but as I've seen it used, it is more like:
"let ME summarize"
or
"this discussion over as I will now summarize and no further discussion is necessary"
Often the person who uses the phrase claims that discussion is over per his call. So the person is either exercising authority in the meeting or claiming to be in position of authority per his knowledge. So to challenge the "end of day" claim, you must challenge the person directly.
If the boss says, "at the end of the day," it means, shut up I'm done with this discussion. If a peer says, "at the end of the day" you decide whether to say, "it may be the end of your day, but the sun has just risen on this issue because you haven't considered . . . ."
As I see it used most often, it's meant as a wrap-up acknowledgement of an unpopular or regrettable but necessary decision, as in "Here are all the caveats, disclaimers, and known pitfalls ~ blah blah blah ~ but at the end of the day we still gotta go w/ Plan C..."
It's basically subbed out 'nevertheless' but perhaps sounds more folksy and less stilted.