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here in manky-land, 'what's up?' means, 'whats wrong?' or 'how can i help to solve your problem?' but i've noticed that in America it seems to mean, 'what's happening?'. anyone know more? anyone know where this phrase comes from? it is a pretty weird one.
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Carpal Tunnel
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well, it can mean both, here in the US, too, but I think wassup is mostly used for what's happening, as you say. what's up depends a lot on inflection to suggest meaning. "wassup" is street lingo, and was popularized by a bizarre beer commercial, involving an alien, I believe. probably could find it on-line, if we tried. not really sure that it's worth it. 
formerly known as etaoin...
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gee, dody, the idiom 'what up?' is so common, your post caught me off guard.
Yes, 'what's up? (wassup?)' does mean 'what is happening?'--
because here, people get up to stuff.. (she's up to no good, or those kids are being awful quite back there.. go check on them and see what they are up to.-might be said by parents..
So to be up to , is to be doing stuff, (and if you feel ill, you might not be up to going out, or to school--the negitive uses the same idiom.)
Wassup? logically follows.
the Beatles use the expression 'let it be' --
my irish parents used to use the expression (and i do, too) leave me be.- to mean don't bother me. Most american don't use the the verb to be that way. they understand the beatle's song, but 'let it be' (accept it as is) is not a commonly used idiom here in US..not even with the exposure of the song.
since my parents use 'what are you up to now?' to ask what was i doing at the present time, i never thought the expression to be anything particularly american. Wassup? is just a short version of my parents question!
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popularized by a bizarre beer commercial, involving an alien
Naaa, what's up, doc? [munching on carrot]
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Pooh-Bah
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>popularized by a bizarre beer commercial, involving an alien
Funny, I'd always thought that it was a frog. Annyoying, it was. My twelve year old did it to the point of exhaustion.
It's one that I've always struggled with. like Dodyskin, to me "what's up" means "what's up with you" ("What's the matter with you?").
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I think there was a frog commercial, too, and of course, it was BB who popularized "what's up", but Bugs never said "wassup"...
formerly known as etaoin...
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Along the same lines, the expression "Howzit?" is very common here in Hawaii. Don't know if it's spread beyond the islands--presumably, a distortion of "How is it going?", and always used in the context of a greeting.
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Bugs never said "wassup"
You stumpin for the Head Nitpicker post?
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You stumpin for the Head Nitpicker post?
I say, I say, well I say, now just wait here a minute... <foghorn leghorn voice...>
formerly known as etaoin...
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