Say what? Idiom
You what?
This is a very colloquial way of expressing surprise or disbelief at something you have heard. It can also be used to ask someone to say something again.
or what?
or what? A phrase following a statement that adds emphasis or suggests an option. For example, in
Is this a good movie or what? the phrase asks for confirmation or agreement. However, it also may ask for an alternative, as in
Is this book a biography or what? In the 1700s it generally asked for a choice among a series of options, and it still has this function, as in
In what does John excel? in imagination? in reasoning powers? in mathematics? or what?Say what?
1. Please echo that, I couldn't apprehend or didn't accept it. A: "We're activity to France this summer." B: "Say what?" A: "France! We're activity to France this summer!" B: "Oh, sorry, I anticipation you said you were activity to Fran's, as in my acquaintance Fran from New Orleans."2. That's ridiculous; that can't be accurate or correct. A: "John abdicate his job to be a antic in the circus." B: "Say what? But he was earning, like, $100,000 a year!"Learn more: saySay what?
Inf. What did you say?; Please echo what you said. Sally: Would you like some added salad? Fred: Say what? Sally: Salad? Would you like some added salad? John: Put this one over there. Sue: Say what? John: Never mind, I'll do it.Learn more: saysay ˈwhat?
(American English, spoken) acclimated to accurate abruptness at what somebody has aloof said: ‘He’s accepting married.’ ‘Say what?’Learn more: saySay what?
interrog. What did you say? The old man captivated his duke to his ear and said, “Say what?” Learn more: saysay what?
Did I apprehend you correctly? Is that true? This slangy expression, with the accent on what, dates from the additional bisected of the twentieth century. Eric Partridge believed it originated in the “ghetto” but did not specify further.Learn more: say
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