# what was someone smoking

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/what-was-someone-smoking
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

Used to express surprise about someone's uncharacteristic or wacky, offbeat past actions.

## Examples

- 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.

## Origin

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.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.