It's called razors?

Question

Hi, everyone.I was watching a comment section of a video(showing people with long armpit hair) on Youtube, and I saw this comment: "It's called razors, people". Now, shouldn't we use plural pronoun "they" instead of "it" here.Shouldn't the comment read: "They are called razors, people."?Thanks.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

silak12Now, shouldn't we use plural pronoun "they" instead of "it" here.
Shouldn't the comment read: "They are called razors, people."?

The comment could have "they", but that's not exactly the intent of the comment. There is nothing in the context that 'they' could refer to directly. We would ask "What things are you talking about that are called razors?"

It's called ... is used very informally to mean "The answer is" or "The solution is". Spelled out more explicitly, it's a shortening of this entire train of thought:

For this problem, there is a solution that all people with at least some intelligence already know, and that solution is _____, you ridiculous people!

You're right, though, in thinking in terms of subject-verb agreement. Most of the time this idiom is used with a singular noun, so we might expect It's called a razor, people! more often than It's called razors, people!

CJ

It's called razors?

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