English Phrase: What's The Deal With (something)?

• Important English Proverbs
• Free English Lessons
• Learn English Phrases
• Video Lessons

• Search
• Free Stuff
  • Lessons
  • Sample Audio
  • Sample Download
  • Learning English
• Login

Search PhraseMix

Recommended Pages:

• How to learn English
• A cool trick for memorizing sentences
• Don't just learn. Overlearn.
• The 3 biggest improvements you can make to your English writing
• The key to understanding natural spoken English
• 5 steps to achieving your New Year's resolutions
• 8 reasons why your English isn't improving
• How your brain learns English (and how it doesn't)
• Infographic: How many words do you 'need'?
• The problem with language learning "levels"
• Where do I start?
• Never tell yourself that you "know" an English word or phrase.
• How to memorize the phrases
• Why Memorize? My theory of "hook phrases"

Lessons Phrases What's the deal w...

What's the deal with (something)?

This is a question that you can ask to get general information about something. "What's the deal with ___?" isn't a specific question, so the person who you ask can give whatever answer is appropriate. In the situation above, the wife can give any of these answers:

Oops, I made that for lunch but I forgot to put it away.

It's an Italian recipe I came across the other day.

It's still good. Just heat it up a bit.

Ask "what's the deal with ___" for things that are a little strange or unexpected, when you want to find out information about them but you don't know what exactly to ask. You can also ask about people this way if they're acting strange:

What's her deal?

The word "deal" in this phrase is not used as a verb. It's a noun which means "situation" or "story".

This phrase appears in these lessons:

• “What's the deal with this soup?”

Featured Articles

• Do You Know All About Virtual Reality Video Games?
• When can you use "play" to talk about a sport?
• 15 ways to say "Goodbye" in English
• Casual speech

Recent Comments

More Comments »

Follow PhraseMix

Twitter Facebook

• About PhraseMix

  • About PhraseMix
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy

• PhraseMix Premium

  • Subscription Pricing
  • Join
  • Log In

• Lessons

  • Latest Lessons
  • Video Lessons
  • Lesson Categories
  • Lesson Index

• Communicate

  • Discussions
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Blog

Copyright © 2026 , All rights reserved.

Want to Improve your English Fluency?

Get thousands of Premium English lessons for only $9.99!

No Subscriptions. No monthly Fees.

Learn More