Hi, everyone.

I was reading some comments in a site called Reddit and came across this sentence :

TIL bubble art is a thing.

It was a comment in a page about bubble art. It seemed that it may mean bubble art is a fad. Would you explain about it?

Thank you.

 

This "a thing" is a variant of "the thing". See WRD entry 16 in the first list. thing - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

the thing, something that is correct or fashionable:
Wearing baseball caps backward is the thing.

 

"TIL bubble art is a thing" has no meaning in itself. Perhaps it had a meaning in the context of the website, which you have given.

 

Thank you.

 

Thank you.

 

TIL that apparently in certain circles TIL is forum-speak for "Today I learned".

 

Thank you.

 

Thank you.

 

You can think of it as being short for "a thing that people do".

Today I learned that bubble art is a thing (that people do).

But when you leave off those last three words it makes it more like slang, and it describes something that is somewhat unexpected or new and that other people might not know about yet but that a fair number of people have started doing.

As an example, eating ice cream is not "a thing" but if a fair number of people started eating ice cream with pickles on it you could then say eating ice cream with pickles is "a thing". (It's new and unexpected.) Whether it's only a fad you won't know until time goes by. If people stop doing it, it was a fad. If everyone starts doing it regularly, it's no longer a thing - it's normal. If a small number of people keep doing it then it might still be "a thing" for a long time.

 

For me, "a thing" is quite different in meaning from "the thing."
Bubble art is a thing = Bubble art actually exists.
Bubble art is the thing = Bubble art is the latest fad.

 

Exactly. "... is a thing" is a slangy way of saying that something legitimately exists.

And according to the website isitathing.com, bubble art is not a thing.

 

Yes, well, they have it wrong. It seems that Bubble Art is an independent producer of cultural content: radio, video, shows, etc. based in Villeurbanne, Lyon. https://www.bubble-art-prod.com/contact.

 

Thank you, everyone.

 

Is Keith Bradford a thing?

 

No. Well, I'm happy about that.

But I really don't see the point of that website. It tells me that milk, sand and steel aren't things either. Forget it.

 

While a company is a "thing" in the "a noun is a thing" sense, it's not a "thing" in the sense meant by "Baby gender reveal parties are a thing."

 

Now you're talking double Dutch.

 

Keith, Myridon's explanation makes perfect sense to me.
You might want to google "baby gender reveal party."
"Baby gender reveal parties are a thing" = Baby gender reveal parties actually exist.
To quote Kentix's excellent explanation in post #10, (A thing) "describes something that is somewhat unexpected or new and that other people might not know about yet but that a fair number of people have started doing" (highlighting mine).
That is why inserting an existing company's name or a person's name or words such as milk, sand, or steel in the search box on the site isitathing.com will only lead to the result of "NO (, that is not "a thing)." I should add that I just inserted "baby gender reveal parties" in the search box and was told they're not a thing. I then clicked on "Did we get this one wrong? Let us know" and a pop-up box appeared with the following text: "Noted! I guess we're not as smart as we think we are. Thanks!"
Baby gender reveal parties are somewhat unexpected (by me, at least!) and new, some people don't know about them, but a fair number of people have started having them; they actually exist. Therefore, by definition, they are "a thing." (definitely informal, colloquial, possibly even slang).