Slang dictionary
what鈥檚 up
or what鈥檚 up or wassup or waddup [(h)wuhts uhp]
What does what's up mean?
What鈥檚 up is an informal greeting (鈥淗ey, buddy, what鈥檚 up?鈥�), idiomatic phrase, or an inquiry about a current or recent state of affairs (鈥淵ou seem sad. What鈥檚 up?鈥�).
Where does what鈥檚 up come from?
What鈥檚 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 鈥渦p.鈥�
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鈥檚 up was further brought into the popular lexicon by Bugs Bunny, a cartoon rabbit who premiered to great popularity in the 1940s. Bugs Bunny鈥檚 signature greeting was 鈥淲hat鈥檚 up, Doc?鈥� The creator of the cartoon claimed it was a common phrase in his Texas hometown. Originally used to cheekily address Bugs鈥檚 longtime nemesis (cartoon hunter Elmer Fudd), the catchphrase became well-known to Bugs鈥檚 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鈥檚 up in pop culture.
Examples of what鈥檚 up
Who uses what鈥檚 up?
What鈥檚 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鈥檚 up like most terms we define on 亚洲网紅露点, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of what鈥檚 up that will help our users expand their word mastery.