3

A guy in this video comes up with a very unusual greeting:

Hello, top of the morning to ya! What do you say? What do you be?

I know that the first sentence is an old Irish idiom. But what is the meaning of the rest? Especially the question "what do you be"? What is the intention of the guy saying it?

3
  • 1
    Everything about Kramer is a bit unusual. He's just trying to be funny and nonchalant. He intends nothing more than "Here I am. Hi, how's it going?"
    – Jim
    Aug 25, 2014 at 5:48
  • @Jim I'm having more difficulty finding the well-wishing flavour of 'top of the morning to you' in your paraphrase than Gandalf seemed to have deciding on what Bilbo meant by 'Good morning!'. Aug 25, 2014 at 7:52
  • @EdwinAshworth- I kinda skipped that part since OP said they had no problem with it.
    – Jim
    Aug 25, 2014 at 14:48

1 Answer 1

1

It means "how are you". It's an unusual formation, and without the context that it's specifically a greeting, I wouldn't understand him. He is, idiosyncratically, evoking an Irish greeting. Why? You'd have to ask Kramer - idiosyncrasy is pretty much the essence of the character.

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.