I feel a need to make an observation: guys are weird. I mean, I am one, but I'm going to have to
break with the pack on this issue.
By this issue, I mean guys use of the phrase "What's up?" as a greeting.
In college, I pass a girl in the hall in the dorm, and she says: "Hi.", and I say: "Hi." OK, that was pleasant.
But now, I pass a guy in the hall. He says: "What's up?" And I just sort of choke on whatever it was I was going to say. My usual response is "nothing", or "not much."
But this seems a very odd way to greet someone. In fact, the other guys seem to agree. From my casual observation of other male-male interactions, the standard reply to the question "What's up?" appears to be...."What's up?"
That's right, apparently this question is asked by a person without any desire to hear an actual answer to it. Even more damning, these encounters occur so quickly that the first guy really doesn't even want any kind of detailed answer as to what is in fact up.
Furthermore, this is not a difference of which gender you are talking to. Girls talking to other girls still say "Hi.", and guys talking to girls still almost always say "What's up?"
Anyway, I don't get it. What's up?