"that's what's up" ...

is the most un-meaningful phrase out there right now. and it's a phrase which is infesting conversations everywhere, from mtv vee-jays, to up and coming entertainers, to everyday talk, to my own students' passing period conversations (say it ain't so!)...


agree?


i mean, what is "that's what's up" supposed to mean? i know we have phrases that we say to simply acknowledge another person's ideas (i.e. "word!," "mhm," etc). but i dunno... something about the superficial feeling of people responding to others' words by saying, "that's what's up" as opposed to saying what the hell you really think about what they just said... it just.. well... sounds really lazy... and... bothers me. and you know, what am i supposed to say in response to that phrase?

me: i had a really awesome day at work today.
joe: that's what's up!
me: [awkward silence] ... um. yeah, so about my day...

ok, so that's totally a made-up conversation, but i swear i've had conversations where that phrase basically killed my desire to continue the dialogue. what is it about that phrase that bites me?

it's almost as bad as "it is what it is." huh? you just said the same thing twice holmes.

alright, that's all i got right now. THAT's what's up. [ew, GROSS...]