President Biden delivers the State of the Union tackle on Feb. 7.

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President Biden delivers the State of the Union tackle on Feb. 7.

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At a very contentious second in his State of the Union tackle, President Biden ad-libbed a line that left lots of people scratching their heads.

He was taunting Republicans who need to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act, which incorporates the politically common measure to cap drug costs for seniors.

“As my football coach used to say, ‘Lots of luck in your senior year,'” Biden mentioned with a chuckle and a wry smile.

But what does that even imply?

Biden has been saying this for no less than 25 years

It seems this phrase has lengthy been a part of Biden’s folksy casual lexicon. Back within the Nineties, he used to inform the story of assembly Slobodan Milošević, the Serbian chief answerable for ethnic cleaning within the Balkans.

“He asked me what I thought of him and I told him then, I thought he was a damn war criminal and should be tried as such,” Biden mentioned in a speech on the Senate ground. “He looked at me like I said, ‘Lots of luck in your senior year.’ Did not faze him a bit.”

Biden used the phrase once more in a 1997 Senate speech, recounting a fundraising assembly the place he gave a solution that his donors did not need to hear. A decade later, when requested in a tv interview about former President Donald Trump’s plans to repeal Obamacare, Biden’s response was to want him plenty of luck in his senior yr.

Most lately, although, the day after the midterm elections in November when Republicans gained management of the House of Representatives, Biden was requested about impending investigations into his household. His response?

“Lots of luck in your senior year, as my coach used to say,” Biden mentioned, happening to clarify that he thinks the American individuals would somewhat see politicians addressing their day by day considerations, like inflation.

The phrase “Lots of luck in your senior year” was not within the ready remarks for President Biden’s State of the Union tackle.

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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The phrase “Lots of luck in your senior year” was not within the ready remarks for President Biden’s State of the Union tackle.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Even linguists have been puzzled by the phrase

Now, should you’ve by no means heard this phrase earlier than, you are not alone. Anatoly Liberman is a linguist on the University of Minnesota and creator of the e book: “Take My Word For It: A Dictionary of English Idioms.” This one is not in his e book.

“It is not listed even in the most detailed database of formulas, wishes and sayings,” Liberman informed NPR.

But, that is not essentially stunning, he mentioned. There are a number of idioms like this, solely identified in a single area, one household or maybe one coach’s sphere of affect.

Bob Markel performed sports activities with Biden in highschool and has been uncovered to a lifetime of Bidenisms. He went on to be elected mayor of Springfield, Mass., and credit Biden with serving to his marketing campaign. And when Markel was watching the State of the Union tackle, that phrase caught his ear.

“I had the same reaction, I guess, as other people,” mentioned Markle. “Where did that come from?”

Markel figures Biden picked it up in faculty. NPR requested the White House which coach used the saying and what it means, and did not get a solution. But Markel’s guess is pretty much as good as any.

“It is not exactly an insult, but it’s a gentle rebuke, put it that way,” mentioned Markel. “Good luck in your senior year … if you get there, in other words. I think that’s basically what he’s saying.”

It’s an expression of skepticism, with a little bit of a taunt inbuilt.

Robin Lakoff, a professor emerita of linguistics at UC Berkeley, says it reminds her of what individuals would write in somebody’s yearbook in the event that they did not actually have something to say — or if they’d quite a bit to say, but it surely would not be good.

When Biden says it, there is a chew, an fringe of sarcasm. As insults go, it has a bonus, mentioned Lakoff.

“It couldn’t be then turned back against him by the Republicans,” mentioned Lakoff.

President Biden arrives to ship the State of the Union tackle within the House chamber on Feb. 7.

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Jacquelyn Martin/Pool through Getty Images

President Biden arrives to ship the State of the Union tackle within the House chamber on Feb. 7.

Jacquelyn Martin/Pool through Getty Images

NPR’s Devin Speak contributed to this story.