View source for What Is This X You Speak Of?

{{trope}}
Also seen as "What Is This X Of Which You Speak?" and "X? What means this X?", 

A [[Stock Phrase]] that today is used in conversation to express a [[Sarcasm Mode|sarcastic dismissal]] of a concept that another person takes for granted, or to imply that the topic of the sentence—X -- is unknown in the context of the discussion.  For example:

{{quote|'''Alice:'''  Surely the [[NSA]]'s spying program is limited by the Constitution.
'''Bob:'''  What is this Constitution of which you speak?}}

Which implies that NSA is ignoring or ignorant of the Constitution and its limits on government power.

The origins of this phrase are obscure; it appears to be rooted in a [[Beam Me Up, Scotty|generalized memory of cliched lines]] from bad SF movies from the middle of the 20th Century.  The prototypical scene involves [[Aliens Speaking English|aliens who speak English perfectly]], yet still need a handy Earthman to explain ordinary concepts to them—even concepts one would expect would have obvious counterparts in their own culture or biology.  It also seems to be related to the archetypal [[Jungle Princess]]'s inquiry, [[What Is This Thing You Call Love?|"Kiss?  What is 'kiss'?"]]  However, examples both sarcastic and serious can be found at least as far back as the 18th Century, making this [[Older Than Radio]], and possibly [[Older Than Steam]].

Since its explosion into the memesphere as a sarcastic [[Snowclone]] the phrase can be found just about anywhere—we'd really rather see pre-Internet instances of the phrase and its variants as examples, whether used straight or as sarcasm.  (If you've got a particularly good example of modern use that you still want to share, though, put it on the Quotes subpage.)

[[Super-Trope]], at least in structure if not always usage, to [[What Is This Thing You Call Love?]]

Not to be confused with "[[What Is This, X?]]"

{{examples}}
== Literature ==
* ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'' has a variant instance, which [http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002289.html at least one linguistics blogger] suspects may be the trigger for modern (over-)usage of the phrase:
{{quote|"Look, sorry, are we talking about the little white furry things with the cheese fixation and women standing on tables screaming in early sixties sitcoms?"
Slartibartfast coughed politely.
"Earthman," he said, "it is sometimes hard to follow your mode of speech. Remember I have been asleep inside this planet of Magrathea for five million years and know little of these early sixties sitcoms of which you speak."}}
* ''The Monk'', by Matthew Lewis, a [[Gothic Horror]] novel written in ''1794'':
{{quote|"'Father, you amaze me!  What is this love of which you speak?  I neither know its nature, nor if I felt it, why I should conceal the sentiment.'"}}
* The 1943 English translation of ''[[The Little Prince]]'' by Antione de Saint-Exupery tweaks the original French into this form:
{{quote|"My little man, where do you come from? What is this 'where I live,' of which you speak?"}}


== Live Action Television ==
* ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'', the infamous episode "Spock's Brain":
{{quote|'''Kara:''' "Brain" and "brain"!  What is "brain"?}}


== New Media ==
* The earliest known Internet example of the phrase can be found in a [http://groups-beta.google.com/group/net.misc/msg/da67fe94b296df17 post] to [[UseNet|net.misc]] on August 24, 1983:
{{quote|There has been a lot of net discussion about "toilet paper" recently. Just what is this "toilet paper" of which you speak?  Where can I find it?}}
:It is less the [[Snowclone]], though, than an echo of the older usage.


{{reflist}}
[[Category:Stock Phrases]]
[[Category:What Is This X You Speak Of?]]
[[Category:This Trope Is X]]
[[Category:Pages Original to All The Tropes]]