what was someone smoking
Used to express surprise about someone's uncharacteristic or wacky, offbeat past actions.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“He bought a pet tiger; what was he smoking?”
“She wore a giant banana suit to the wedding; what was she smoking?”
“You painted your entire kitchen bright neon purple; what were you smoking?”
“When I saw the strange design for the new office building, I wondered what the architect was smoking.”
“Your brother decided to quit his stable job to become a professional unicycle rider, and I honestly want to know what he was smoking.”
“The coach put the smallest player on the team in as the goalkeeper during the finals, leaving the fans wondering what he was smoking.”
“I looked at my old social media posts from ten years ago and truly wondered what I was smoking when I wrote those things.”
“Looking back at the absurd business decisions made by the board last year, one cannot help but wonder what they were smoking.”
From the late 20th century, a rhetorical inquiry suggesting the interlocutor has been smoking mind-altering drugs. The phrase functions as a critique of a particularly incoherent or illogical proposition by attributing the error to chemical impairment.
- 01
ain't what it used to was
Is not what it used to be; (expressing nostalgia).
- 02
as if someone owns the place
Alternative form of like someone owns the place.
- 03
beat someone round the ears
To beat (a person) with blows about the head.
- 04
bless someone with
To give or bestow, as a gift from God.
- 05
bring someone to their knees
To defeat and make submit to orders.
- 06
call someone every name in the book
To call someone many abusive names.
- 07
call someone everything but a child of God
To call someone many abusive names.
- 08
catch someone napping
To take advantage of someone's inattention.
Last updated August 10, 2026