I'm not a native English speaker and always get confused with this expression. For instance:
Me: What's the current state of [some subject] discussion?
Bob: There is none. It was brought up in the past and was rejected.
Me: Last time I checked, it seemed like we couldn't decide which route to take for [specific topic].
Bob: there you go 🙂
If it wasn't for the smile emoticon I would be in trouble to interpret it was a positive reaction though I still don't know what it means exactly.
It happens in other contexts too and I usually pretend I understand it. What does it usually mean?
Best Answer
In this same case, he might just as well have said “exactly”, “you got it”, or “case in point”.
Saying any of these–including “there you go” as a flat interjection–is a way to point out the similarity of something said before to what was said just now, especially when the latter is a specific example or proof of the former.
If he wanted to spell out his sentiment thoroughly, he might have said something like “That’s the exact nature of the problem that caused it to be rejected when it came up before. You and I actually understand the situation the same, even though we are saying apparently different things about it.”