“Don’t worry,” she said. “It’s temporary.”
“Temporary like a bad haircut?” he said. “Or temporary like the universe?”
“Um,” she said. “Temporary like a mortgage.”
He nodded and looked away. “It could be worse,” he said.
“You can say that again,” she said.
“You can say that again,” said Bones.
“Why?” said Spock.
“For emphasis.”
“Illogical. Repeating a phrase diminishes its impact. Minds are tuned to filter out repetition as background noise. If I repeat important information, then the unrepeated least important information will stand out resulting in the opposite of the desired effect.”
Bones frowned.
“Communication isn’t just for information exchange,” said Kirk in a big-brotherly tone. “It’s about humor, entertainment, enjoyment. Repetition is funny.”
“I would think it would be tiresome,” said Spock.
“It can be,” Kirk conceded.
“I doubt I’d be able to spot the difference,” said Spock.
“You can say that again,” said Bones.
Kirk grinned and slapped Bones on the back, Spock raised an eyebrow, and everyone got busy saving the universe.