One of my In-Laws has, in his repertoire of come-backs, “been there, done that, got the t shirt to prove it.” I have heard him say it so often that I usually understood what he meant. The meaning of the phrase is basically, been there and experienced it, therefore I don’t need to do it again.
Interlude: Gotta run to pick up the grand-children from school. Most seniors, reading this can associate with this part of our golden years.
I really don’t know where this phrase originated. Here is a link to a site that explains the origination of the phrase. Click here
Getting back to my In-Law. In my opinion, he uses the phrase to fit any occasion, especially if he doesn’t want to attend or participate in something.
Sorry: Gotta take one of the grand-children to music.. It’s tough when you get a train of thought and you want to keep typing.
Now you can say, “been there, done that” but I haven’t got the t shirt.”
The in-law, that I am referring to, was a long distance truck driver. He has travelled to just about every state and province. When we have occasion to get together he will go on with a litany (sounds like it when he begins) of stories. Many of them are extremely comical and he usually starts to laugh before he begins his story.
A few days ago, I was telling him a story that I didn’t believe he had heard before or had such an experience. This was one of those once in a life-time experiences. When I finished, there was no laughter, but “been there done that, got the t shirt to prove it.”
I should have asked him to show me the t shirt.
Have a great day