[HPFGU-OTChatter] Digest Number 433

[Ali Wildgoose]

Dai wrote:
>Can some one explain what "What's up with that?" means?
>In the past few days this phrase has been used repeatedly over on the
>movies list, and I'm at a loss to understand it.

"What's up with that?" is a (nearly always) rhetorical question used  to 
express beffuddlement of some kind.

To use your own example:

>"I noticed Madam Hooch had yellow cats eyes; What's up with that?"

You could also write this as, "I noticed Madam Hooch had yellow cats eyes; 
why the hell did she?  I don't get it!"  You sort of loose the attitude, but 
that's basically what it means.

>It's being used again and again, over there, and everytime I see it I
>stop and wonder.... what the hell does that mean? Is this poster
>expecting an answer? If so, what is the question?

You could answer the Madame Hooch question, but you don't necessarily have 
to.  "What's up with that?" is often left unanswered.  In this case, though, 
an explanation of Hooch's eye color would have been welcome.

By the way, where are you from?  Is English your native language?  Just 
curious....

Ali

http://home.nyu.edu/~amw243 :: Diagon Alley
Harry Potter for Slightly Older Folk


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