If you searched for “what is it with” as a phrase, you probably met it in the middle of a sentence, not as a complete question on its own. The search phrase “what is it with” is a related search phrase that usually appears as the start of a longer question, such as “What is it with people who leave lights on?” or “What is it with this weather lately?” This guide explains that pattern honestly: the phrase itself is incomplete, and its meaning comes from the words that follow it. Once you see how it works, you will recognise it instantly in conversation, comedy, complaints, and social media posts.
The phrase is worth understanding because it does more than ask for information. It expresses surprise, frustration, curiosity, or amusement about a repeated pattern. A speaker who asks “What is it with drivers who never signal?” is not only asking for a factual explanation. They are also saying that the pattern puzzles them, annoys them, or seems strangely common. That extra attitude is the heart of the phrase, and it is why a literal translation or a one-word definition misses the point. The grammar is simple, but the tone carries much of the meaning.
What Is It With This Phrase? The Core Meaning
To answer “what is it with” in plain terms: it introduces a question about why a person, group, thing, or situation behaves in a particular, often surprising, way. The structure is “What is it with” plus a noun phrase, plus an optional clause that describes the behaviour. For example, “What is it with cats and boxes?” asks why cats seem drawn to boxes. “What is it with Mondays?” asks why Mondays feel difficult, often with humour rather than a serious search for a cause. The phrase turns an observation into a question, and it invites the listener to share the surprise or to offer an explanation.
The phrase is informal and conversational. You will hear it among friends, in podcasts, in sitcoms, and in online comments, far more often than in formal writing. In a formal essay, a writer would usually rephrase it as “Why do” or “What explains,” because the idiom sounds too casual for academic or business prose. In speech, however, its informality is an advantage. It signals that the speaker is thinking aloud, sharing a puzzle, or starting a light-hearted complaint, rather than delivering a formal argument.
The grammar in one clear pattern
The pattern is easy to reuse. Start with “What is it with,” add the subject you are puzzled by, and then add the behaviour that puzzles you. “What is it with neighbours who practise drums at midnight?” follows the pattern exactly. You can also shorten it when the context is clear. If friends are already talking about late-night noise, a speaker can simply say, “What is it with neighbours?” and everyone understands that the question is about the noise, not about neighbours in general. Context fills the gap that the short form leaves.
What Is It With Tone: Curiosity, Complaint, or Comedy?
The tone of “what is it with” changes with the situation, and that is why listeners rarely misunderstand it in real conversation. When the tone is light, the phrase is playful curiosity. “What is it with toddlers and puddles?” is usually affectionate, not angry. When the tone is sharper, the phrase becomes a complaint. “What is it with people who talk during films?” is a criticism, even though it is phrased as a question. When the tone is exaggerated for comedy, the phrase becomes a setup for a joke, because the speaker pretends that an ordinary habit is a great mystery.
Comedians use the phrase often, because it creates an instant bond with the audience. The comedian names a familiar pattern, the audience recognises it, and the joke follows from the shared recognition. “What is it with airline food?” became a famous comedy cliché for exactly that reason: almost everyone had eaten a disappointing meal on a plane, so the question felt universal. The humour does not come from the grammar. It comes from the shared experience that the phrase points to, and from the mock-serious way of treating a small annoyance as a puzzle.
How to tell complaint from curiosity
Listen for three clues. First, the voice: a rising, amused tone suggests curiosity, while a flat or exasperated tone suggests complaint. Second, the example: a harmless habit suggests humour, while a rude or inconsiderate habit suggests criticism. Third, the follow-up: a curious speaker often accepts an explanation, while a complaining speaker often wants agreement rather than an answer. If someone says, “What is it with this traffic?” and then laughs, they want company. If they say it through gritted teeth, they want sympathy. The words are the same, but the social purpose differs.
What Is It With Examples From Everyday Life
Everyday examples show how flexible the phrase is. “What is it with cats sitting on laptops?” captures a pet habit that owners find both annoying and funny. “What is it with rain on the one day you wash the car?” captures bad timing. “What is it with gyms in January?” captures a seasonal pattern, when new members arrive in large numbers and then gradually disappear. “What is it with sequels that are longer than the original?” captures a frustration with films. In each case, the speaker is not asking for a scientific paper. They are naming a pattern they have noticed and inviting others to notice it too.
The phrase also works for larger topics, but it keeps its informal flavour even then. “What is it with cities and traffic at rush hour?” can start a serious conversation about transport, but the opening still sounds like a chat, not a lecture. That is useful for writers and speakers who want to open a topic in a friendly way before moving to evidence and argument. The phrase lowers the barrier to discussion, because it frames a big question as a shared puzzle rather than a test of knowledge. Used once at the start, it can warm up an audience. Used repeatedly, it can sound like complaining, so variety matters.
| Example sentence | Likely tone | What the speaker wants |
|---|---|---|
| What is it with cats and boxes? | Playful curiosity | A fun explanation or shared stories |
| What is it with people who talk during films? | Complaint | Agreement and sympathy |
| What is it with Mondays? | Humorous exaggeration | A laugh and shared feeling |
| What is it with gyms in January? | Observation | Discussion of a seasonal pattern |
| What is it with this weather lately? | Mild puzzlement | Small talk and conversation |
What Is It With Compared With Similar Questions
“what is it with” is close to several other questions, but each has a different shade of meaning. “Why do people do that?” is a direct request for a reason, and it sounds more neutral. “What is wrong with people who do that?” is a stronger judgement, and it can sound harsh. “What is the deal with that?” is an American informal alternative with a similar playful or puzzled tone. “What is going on with that?” asks for news or an update, rather than an explanation of a pattern. Choosing among them is a matter of tone: use the “what is it with” form when you want to sound puzzled and conversational, and use “why” when you want a straightforward answer.
The phrase also differs from “What is it?” on its own. “What is it?” asks for identification: what is this thing, or what is the matter? “What is it with” asks for an explanation of a pattern, and it always points forward to a subject. That small word “with” changes the whole job of the question. It moves the focus from a single object to a habit, a group, or a repeated situation. Learners of English often confuse the two, because they look similar on the page, but native speakers hear the difference immediately in speech.
Common learner mistakes
One common mistake is stopping the phrase too early and leaving the listener waiting. Saying only “What is it with?” without a subject sounds unfinished, unless the context already supplies the subject. Another mistake is using the phrase in formal writing, where it can sound too chatty. A third mistake is using it for a serious accusation, where a direct question would be clearer and fairer. If you need to raise a serious concern, say what happened and ask directly, rather than hiding the criticism inside a puzzled idiom. The phrase works best for light puzzles and shared observations, not for formal complaints.
What Is It With as a Search Phrase: Why People Type It
Search engines receive many incomplete phrases, because people type the words they remember from a conversation, a song, a show, or a comment, and hope the search engine will complete the thought. That is why “what is it with” appears as a related search phrase: it is the beginning of a longer question that the searcher has not finished typing, or it is a phrase they heard and want to understand. Search results therefore mix grammar explanations, comedy routines, song lyrics, and episode recaps, because the phrase itself does not point to a single topic. The context around the search matters more than the four words alone.
If you arrived here from that kind of search, the most useful next step is to add the subject you had in mind. Searching for the full question, such as “what is it with cats and boxes,” will give far better results than searching for the fragment alone. The same advice applies to other fragment searches: add the noun, the show, or the situation, and the results become specific. This guide exists to explain the fragment itself, so that when you see it again, you can recognise it as an opening, not a complete question, and you can supply the missing subject from context.
For readers who like exploring how television and language intersect, our recap-style guides offer a similar plain-English approach. You can browse recaps of television episodes explained simply for an example of how a series is summarised for new viewers. For a guide to another everyday expression, see what all-encompassing means in plain English. Both show how a short phrase can open a much longer explanation.
Frequently Asked Questions About What Is It With
Is “what is it with” a complete sentence?
No, on its own it is a fragment. It needs a subject to be complete, such as “What is it with cats?” In conversation, the subject can be supplied by context, but in writing it should usually be included for clarity.
Is the phrase rude?
It is not a swear phrase, and it is not inherently rude. It can sound critical when it is used about a person or group in a complaining tone, so use it carefully when the subject is someone you know, and avoid it for serious accusations.
Can I use it in formal writing?
It is better to rephrase it in formal writing. Use “Why do,” “What explains,” or “What causes” instead, because those forms sound neutral and precise, while the idiom sounds conversational.
What is the difference between “what is it with” and “what is the deal with”?
They are very close in meaning and tone. “What is the deal with” is more common in American informal speech, while “what is it with” is widely used in both British and American conversation. Either form signals puzzlement about a pattern.
Why does the phrase appear in searches without an ending?
Because people often search for a fragment they heard, or they start typing a longer question and stop early. Search engines treat it as a related phrase, and the full meaning only becomes clear when the subject is added.
Conclusion
In short, “what is it with” is an informal opening for a question about a puzzling pattern, and its meaning depends on the subject and behaviour that follow it. It can express curiosity, complaint, or comedy, and it works because it turns an observation into a shared puzzle. Recognising it as a fragment, rather than a complete question, is the key to understanding it in speech, in writing, and in search results. Add the subject, listen for the tone, and you will know whether the speaker wants an explanation, agreement, or simply a laugh, and you will be able to use the phrase naturally yourself when a familiar pattern catches your attention.
