Time is what it is — an expression of pragmatic acceptance that things are as they are, that complaining changes nothing, and that one must work with circumstances as found rather than wishing them otherwise.
This deceptively simple proverb encapsulates a core Venetian attitude that philosophers might call stoic but the Venetians would simply call senso pratico (practical sense). The Republic of Venice survived for over a thousand years by adapting to circumstances that could not be controlled: the shifting alliances of Italian city-states, the Ottoman advance into the Mediterranean, the loss of the spice trade monopoly after Vasco da Gama's voyage, and the constant battle against the Adriatic tides that threatened the lagoon itself. Venetians learned early that what cannot be changed must be accepted and worked around. The same attitude shaped the agricultural communities of the Veneto plain, where weather, plague, flooding of the Brenta and Piave rivers, and crop failure were facts of life rather than tragedies. The proverb is also connected to Venetian fatalism about the lagoon: the city has always known it will eventually sink or be abandoned, and it has always carried on regardless. In modern usage it functions as a shrug — a philosophical acceptance of traffic, bad weather, bureaucracy, or the behaviour of difficult relatives.
The proverb reflects the philosophical pragmatism of a mercantile republic that could not afford ideology over results; it appears in numerous Venetian dialect collections of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
A farmer looking at rain on the day planned for the harvest
— Piove ancora. Adesso cosa facciamo? — El tempo xe quel che xe. Aspettiamo domani.
— It is raining again. What do we do now? — Time is what it is. We wait until tomorrow.
An elderly Venetian man talking about the city's flooding
L'acqua alta torna ogni anno. El tempo xe quel che xe — metti gli stivali e vai avanti.
The high water comes back every year. Time is what it is — put on your boots and carry on.
A shopkeeper whose delivery is late, explaining to a customer
Il fornitore dice dopodomani. El tempo xe quel che xe — non posso farci niente, mi dispiace.
The supplier says the day after tomorrow. Time is what it is — I cannot do anything about it, I am sorry.
A mother consoling a daughter upset about a cancelled flight
Il volo è cancellato, lo so. Ma el tempo xe quel che xe. Prendiamo un caffè e vediamo il prossimo.
The flight is cancelled, I know. But time is what it is. Let us have a coffee and look at the next one.