# Why do people use the question "Where is it at?"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-use-the-question-where-is-it-at/847843>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 12, 2020, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-use-the-question-where-is-it-at/847843 "2020-02-12T22:53:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-use-the-question-where-is-it-at/847843/41 "2020-02-17T15:42:33Z")

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> [@Treppenwitz](#):
>
> What, you mean at this moment in time?
> 
> j

> [@Leaffan](#):
>
> Yes. And we need to know sooner, rather than later.

"Hey, Yogi, what time is it?

Yogi Berra: “You mean now?”

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**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\
**Post date:** [February 18, 2020, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-use-the-question-where-is-it-at/847843/42 "2020-02-18T03:42:39Z")

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> [@Atamasama](#):
>
> If someone asks me, “Where are the scissors,” they may be just curious or they may need them. It’s ambiguous. Maybe they just want to be sure that they are put away in their proper place for safety, or can be accounted for in the near future. If they say, “Where are the scissors at,” it is implied that they are seeking the scissors for urgent use.

Yeah, and I would also tend to hear in that formulation of the question a slight trace of accusation, as if the questioner is asking because they didn’t find the scissors where they reasonably expected to find them.

> [@Dave B.](#):
>
> Whilst this is occasionally heard around these parts

Ooh, there’s another one. The British use of “whilst” where an American typically expects “while” never fails to take me aback, no matter how thoroughly I consciously recognize that it’s absolutely correct British English.

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**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\
**Post date:** [February 18, 2020, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-use-the-question-where-is-it-at/847843/43 "2020-02-18T09:47:23Z")

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Hmm, correct by definition, albeit still dubious. Look up the history of the word: the final -st was tacked on for really no reason at all. Somebody must have really liked final consonant clusters.

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**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\
**Post date:** [February 18, 2020, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-use-the-question-where-is-it-at/847843/44 "2020-02-18T20:48:06Z")

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Anyway, to recap, the phrase “[where it’s at](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/where_it%27s_at)” is definitely a thing. In the dictionary and all. I expect that to settle the matter.

1. (informal) cool, trendy
2. (informal) true, truthful

Another Bob Dylan quote, from “Positively 4th Street”:  
_You say you lost your faith, but that’s not **where it’s at**  
You have no faith to lose and you know it_

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