what was someone smoking
- idiom
- NSFW
:
¿qué se estaba fumando?
- You paid that much for an old car? What were you smoking?
Examples
-
He thought we could finish the project in one day—what was he smoking?
-
The mayor proposed building a rollercoaster downtown; what was she smoking?
-
He suggested we should go to the beach in the middle of winter—what was he smoking?
-
She wanted to invest in a failing business; what was she smoking?
-
You really think that plan will work? What were you smoking?
Synonyms
84
8.6
To show surprise and criticism of a bad choice
A rude question showing you do not believe someone's idea
How Disbelieving
- Offensive
- NSFW
84
8.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
Literally the words ask what substance someone was inhaling, but in this idiomatic use the speaker expresses incredulity and implies the person must have been impaired. The figurative leap from literal smoking to ‘being so irrational’ is metaphorical and culturally grounded, so a B1 learner who only knows the constituents may sometimes infer it from context but cannot reliably derive the idiomatic meaning.
Etymology
What was someone smoking comes from the image of a person who has smoked something that changes their thinking. People imagine someone who is 'high' acting or talking in a strange way, so asking what was someone smoking became a quick way to show strong disbelief.