what's cooking

Idioms  

1. Also, what's new (with you); what's up; what gives. What's going on, what is happening, as in What's cooking at the office these days? or What's new at your house? or Why are all those cars honking their horns? What's up? or Are you really going to France next week? What gives? The first expression, slang from about 1940, transfers the process of preparing food to other processes. The first variant, a version of “what news are there,” dates from the same period and was given added currency by a popular film and song, What's New, Pussycat? (1965); the title itself became an idiom for a time, what's new, pussycat? The second variant, a colloquialism from the first half of the 1900s, gained currency in the 1940s from Bugs Bunny cartoons in which the rabbit repeatedly says “What's up, Doc?” The last variant, what gives, may derive from the German equivalent, Was gibt's? Slang from about 1940, it is also used to mean “how are you,” as in Hello Jack—what gives? Also see what's with.

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Example Sentences

She told The New York Times in 1962 that she suffered from “first draft-itis,” pivoting from one version to another, “depending on what’s cooking inside.”

From New York Times • Jun. 3, 2020

But on the doorstep of his first season as coordinator with the Trojans , with all eyes on his revamped line, Harrell is confident in what’s cooking up front.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 28, 2019

But lately, even she is curious about what’s cooking on the other side of the divide.

From Washington Post • Jun. 6, 2018

Every time a producer is tempted to point a camera at a young child wailing into the crook of his dad’s arm, she should see what’s cooking in the brass section instead.

From Slate • Mar. 22, 2018

“But no one asked Mother Gaither what she—” and Ma Charles said nicely, “You hush up, little missus, and take care of what’s cooking in your pot. Get off your feet and hush up.”

From "Gone Crazy in Alabama" by Rita Williams-Garcia

Related Words

• picture
• plan
• project
• recipe
• scheme
• setup
• story