Etymology Journal · W
What's all this then?
Meaning
- A classic way to ask what is happening, often used with a mock-authoritative or suspicious tone. It is typically employed when walking into a chaotic room or finding something out of place.
Playful, inquisitive
Used in a sentence
- I walked into the kitchen to see flour everywhere and asked, what's all this then?
- Boss walked into the conference room during the impromptu birthday party and said, what's all this then?
- I found the dog chewing on a slipper and joked, what's all this then?
The backstory
Often associated with British police stereotypes in media, it was adopted into American vernacular as a humorous way to play the role of an investigator.
Heard in
Nationwide
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