What's up?

Not so long ago, if someone asked me "What's up?", I might have replied - "Nothing. I'm just tired that's all."

"What's up?" meant "what's the matter?"

You would ask the question to someone who looked sad or seemed in a bad mood.


Nowadays, for many people, it's a way of saying "hi" or asking "how are you?".

I suppose, like many expressions, it is an import from America.

It's the second use that gets on my nerves.



Do you remember Bugs Bunny chewing a carrot and then saying "What's up, Doc?"? I suppose in this case it was like "What's the matter?", because Elmer Fudd (Elmer Gruñon) was always grumpy.

And I imagine the instant messaging application that everyone seems to have - WhatsApp, is a play on words. In this case - it'd be "Hi! How are you?".


Comments

laura di said…
Hey what´s up? , it´s a nice expresiĂłn.
Graham said…
Hi Laura,

But people use it wrongly and much too often.

Laura di or Laura D??