what's up Doc
- idiom
- Informal
:
¿qué pasa, Doc?
- He leaned against the wall and said, what's up Doc?, imitating Bugs Bunny.
Examples
-
When he answered the phone, his friend greeted him with a cheerful what's up Doc.
-
At the costume party, everyone laughed when she walked in and said what's up Doc.
-
Hey, what's up Doc?
-
I said, what's up Doc to my friend yesterday.
-
When he answered the phone, his friend greeted him with a cheerful what's up Doc.
-
He leaned against the wall and said, what's up Doc?, imitating Bugs Bunny.
-
At the costume party, everyone laughed when she walked in and said what's up Doc.
Synonyms
554
7.2
A friendly question asking how someone is or what they are doing
38
9.1
A casual greeting asking how someone is or what's new
27
9.9
A short informal greeting used to ask how someone is
3
9.9
A casual way to ask someone how they are or what they are doing
2
9.9
A casual way to say hello to someone
A casual hello used to ask how someone is doing
A casual greeting that asks what is going on
How Playful
- Informal
- Slang
- Informal
554
7.2
- Informal
38
9.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally built from 'what's up' (asking what is happening) plus the vocative 'Doc' (addressing a doctor or using 'doc' as a casual form of address), so its meaning as a casual, humorous greeting is directly derivable from its parts. Although the cartoon catchphrase adds cultural flavor, that origin is not required for a B1 learner who knows the constituent words to understand the greeting.
Etymology
What's up Doc was made famous by the cartoon rabbit Bugs Bunny, who would chew a carrot, grin and say the short, joking question to people he met. So today what's up Doc is used as a casual, playful way to ask 'how are you' or 'what's happening'.