Another version of "so to speak", a completely useless expression often combined with other useless expressions like "it is what it is" or "back in the day".
"Yo, dude, what's up with that big scratch you put in my snowboard?"

"Don't know what happened. It is what it is, so to speak."

"Don't give me that soda speak bullshit, what the fuck happened?"
Get the soda speak mug.