What Murphy’s ‘period, full stop!’ phrase means (Opinion)

Has it been driving you crazy too? Welcome to the millions of others tired of hearing the weird phrase by Gov. Phil Murphy.

"Period! Full Stop!"

He uses this when he wants you to know how serious he is about something. How something he says should be taken as an absolute. No room for debate.

But what does it mean? Some already know, but many don't. So for those curious about this ridiculous used-too-often phrase of the governor's, here's the story.

It's the same as saying period twice. We know period. The punctuation mark at the end of a sentence. Meaning in this usage, that's it, nothing more to say. Full stop? It's simply the British English term for this very same punctuation mark. What's know as the period in America is called the full stop in England. So he's basically saying the same thing twice.

What's wrong with this? Well, he's the governor of New Jersey. But he's not exactly a Jersey guy if you know what I mean. He was born and raised in Massachusetts. It was his years spent at Goldman Sachs amassing a fortune and living in Europe that really sets him apart from New Jerseyans. When you own a 23 room mansion in Parrano, Italy and lived in Germany for years and vacation in East Africa, you tend to overlook that your average Jersey guy doesn't know and also doesn't give a crap that the period in British English is called a full stop. I don't think you'll see Phil Murphy vacationing at Island Beach State Park or eating an ice cream cone on the boardwalk at Seaside Heights like Gov. Christie.

Read the room, Phil. Know your audience. Period.

More from New Jersey 101.5