Can I pick them up or what?

[nq:1]I came cross this couple of times this week. It looks like a fixed phrase but I couldn't find it in my dictionaries. What does it mean? mao[/nq]
The phrase there is "or what?" and it usually follows a claim. It's added to any statement where you are not anticipating any argument about the claim. Examples:
Is she pretty, or what?
Is that car fast, or what?
Am I good at this, o

(Email Removed) (mao) wrote on 12 Nov 2003:
[nq:1]I came cross this couple of times this week. It looks like a fixed phrase but I couldn't find it in my dictionaries. What does it mean?[/nq]
Without a context it is a bit obscure, but assuming the line is uttered by someone who has been told that some things have arrived in the post office, the UPS or FED-EX office, or a store for that pers

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}>I came cross this couple of times this week. It looks like a fixed phrase }>but I couldn't find it in my dictionaries. What does it mean? }>
}>mao
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} The phrase there is "or what?" and it usually follows a claim. It's } added to any statement where you are not anticipating any argument } about the claim. Examples:
}
} Is she pretty, or what?
} Is that c

R J Valentine (Email Removed) wrote on 12 Nov 2003:
[nq:1]Not strictly slang. I'd call mine informal. Check with Franke on if there's a formal "or what".[/nq]
No formal "or what?" of which I am aware of (That doesn't quite make it, does it, so strike the second "of" in this case) unless you're asking someone to choose between "which" or "what"?

[nq:2]I came cross this couple of times this week. It ... find it in my dictionaries. What does it mean? mao[/nq]
[nq:1]The phrase there is "or what?" and it usually follows a claim. It's added to any statement where you are ... he might say "Can I pick them, or what?" in an ironic manner meaning the opposite of what he says.[/nq]
Thanks for the help! And that's it. It should have been "Ca

[nq:2]I came cross this couple of times this week. It ... find it in my dictionaries. What does it mean? mao[/nq]
[nq:1]The phrase there is "or what?" and it usually follows a claim. It's added to any statement where you are ... easily get dates with girls. He might be talking about his ability to pick up a girl in a club.[/nq]
Shows what a sheltered life I lead. I imagined a person lookin

[nq:1]I came cross this couple of times this week. It looks like a fixed phrase but I couldn't find it in my dictionaries. What does it mean?[/nq]
I suspect you meant "Can I pick them, or what?" That's a phrase in actual use, and the one you gave isn't.
"Can I pick them, or what?" like many phrases, can be used in either a positive or negative way.
If it is said with happy pride, it me

[nq:1]Thanks for the help! And that's it. It should have been "Can I pick them up, or what?" I just ... doesn't seem to fit your interpretation. I'm particularly curious about why the "(th)em" when he just introduced a single woman?[/nq]
He's using the single woman as an example of his ability to find gorgeous women. The "'em" is "them" and the "them" is all the different women he's found.

[nq:2]However, if you've misheard the statement, and it's "Can I ... an ironic manner meaning the opposite of what he says.[/nq]
[nq:1]Thanks for the help! And that's it. It should have been "Can I pick them up, or what?" I just ... seem to fit your interpretation. I'm particularly curious about why the "(th)em" when he just introduced a single woman? mao[/nq]
In the movie you saw, the spe

[nq:1]I suspect you meant "Can I pick them, or what?" That's a phrase in actual use, and the one you gave isn't.[/nq]
Reading the phrase as written, I (seriously) envisioned it being said by a bowler, commenting on his ability to "pick up" spares.

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