- Examples
- Origin
- Usage
Slang dictionary
or what’s up or wassup or waddup [(h)wuhts uhp]
Published March 1, 2018
What does what's up mean?
What’s up is an informal greeting (“Hey, buddy, what’s up?”), idiomatic phrase, or an inquiry about a current or recent state of affairs (“You seem sad. What’s up?”).
Where does what’s up come from?
debugginghell.com
What’s up can be traced back to the early 19th century, appearing in English works of fiction as a question or a greeting. It often referred to an event or problem that was “up.”
Later iterations, including wassup, whassup, whaddup, and wazzup evolved from slurring the consonants of the original phrase. These iterations first came into use in the early 20th century.
What’s up was further brought into the popular lexicon by Bugs Bunny, a cartoon rabbit who premiered to great popularity in the 1940s. Bugs Bunny’s signature greeting was “What’s up, Doc?” The creator of the cartoon claimed it was a common phrase in his Texas hometown. Originally used to cheekily address Bugs’s longtime nemesis (cartoon hunter Elmer Fudd), the catchphrase became well-known to Bugs’s large audience and was widely adopted.
Whassup was also the catchphrase (and pun on wasabi) in a popular 1999 Anheuser-Busch Budweiser beer commercial campaign. The campaign was based on True, an award-winning short film created by Charles Stone III.
Then, in 2000, Scary Movie created a whole scene around one phrase: wazzup. The widespread exposure further cemented the popularity of wazzup and what’s up in pop culture.
Examples of what’s up
What’s up with WhatsApp on Blackberry and Windows Phone?
Valentina Palladino, Ars Technica, December 2017
This jet lag has me feeling like I’m at the end of a 3 day bender hahaha. Birmingham what’s up!! Been a long time since we have gotten wild. Can’t wait to see all of you tonight
@ccbvb, January 2018
If someone comes up to me with a worried look on their face and says what's up, they are asking if anything's wrong. If on the other hand they say wassssssssup? it means they have been watching far too much TV, in particular an advert for a gassy American beer.
cirrus, WordReference, 2006
Who uses what’s up?
What’s up is widely used among the general population. It is considered a more casual greeting and is often meant rhetorically, requiring no actual update on specific events.
It can also be pronounced wassup or whaddup, among other variations. These informal versions of the phrase have only spiked its popularity.
Whaddup in particular is commonplace in AAVE, and is the name of a popular hip-hop song by artist LL Cool J.
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of what’s up like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of what’s up that will help our users expand their word mastery.
As reported by Wiktionary, what's up has been made popular by the cartoon character Bugs Bunny, who used it as part of his catch phrase "What’s up Doc?" (around 1940).
Whatsup was used in the short story "The adventures of Shamrock Jolnes" from O' Henry (September 11,
1862 - June 5, 1910).
"Good morning, Whatsup," he said, without turning his head. "I'm glad to notice that you've had your house fitted up with electric lights at last."
What's up is used in "The Sea-Wolf", written by Jack London and published in 1904.
"What’s up?" I asked Wolf Larsen, unable longer to keep my curiosity in check.
"Never mind what’s up," he answered gruffly. "You won’t be a thousand years in finding out, and in the meantime just pray for plenty of wind."
English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
- (nonstandard/slang:) wassup, what up, waz up, wazzup, whassup, wuzzup, wussup, sup, wa'up, swa'up, 'sup
Etymology[edit]
Made popular by the cartoon character Bugs Bunny as part of his catch phrase “What’s up Doc?”, as early as 1940.[1]
Pronunciation[edit]
Phrase[edit]
what's up?
- (idiomatic, colloquial, with up in the sense of "of concern")
What’s the matter? What is the problem? What is wrong?
You're looking a bit miserable. What's up?
I got a call saying to come straight away. What's up?
- 1912, W. Somerset Maugham, Lady Frederick: A Comedy in Three Acts, Act 1: Lady Frederick: Oh lord, I wish I were eighteen. [She sinks into a chair, and an expression of utter weariness comes over her face.]Gerald: I say, what's up?Lady Frederick: [Starting.] I thought you'd gone. Nothing.
- (idiomatic, colloquial, chiefly US, with
up in the sense of "happening") What's happening? What are you doing? Synonyms:
what's happening, what's new, what's the haps
Hey, what's up? – Not much, just working.
- (rhetorical question, colloquial) A casual
greeting with a meaning similar to how are you? or nice to meet you.
Hey, what's up? – Hey! Good to see you.
Usage notes[edit]
Sometimes, people give sarcastic responses to this question, such as "the sky" or "the ceiling" (or anything that is above the speaker).
Translations[edit]
What’s the matter? What is the problem? What is wrong?
What’s happening? What are you doing?
How are you?
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See also[edit]
- what's up with
- what's up Doc
References[edit]
- ^ Gary Martin (1997–), “What's up”, in The Phrase Finder.