Meaning
What does Whats cookin good lookin mean?
Whats cookin good lookin is a slang phrase used to inquire upon the current events of an attractive person.
Similar to the question “What’s up?” though it is often used as well as a pick up line.
It has a literal meaning when someone is asking about food being prepared by an attractive person; according to sources most probably husbands used to address their wives with this phrase.
Origin
What's the origin of Whats cookin good lookin?
According to Food: A Dictionary of Literal and Nonliteral Terms, “What’s cookin’ Good Lookin?” is a jive slang expression of the 1930s swing era which most probably suggested, that “the cook may have been the ‘lady of the house’.”1
As a pick up line, it started to become widespread after the song of countrysinger Hank Williams entitled “Hey Good lookin’ ” was released in 1951.
Spread & Usage
How did Whats cookin good lookin spread?
According to Google Trends “Whats cookin good lookin” had its top popularity in January 2005 and a post of the phrase was added to Urban Dictionary on June 24, 2006.
The phrase still can be seen on social media platforms like Reddit, Twitter, TikTok and Facebook with both meanings.
The literal meaning is used as the title of cooking blogs, books and Youtube videos, as well as citation on many gifts and merchandise you can buy in your kitchen.
External resources
- Grammarhow.com – What’s cookin good lookin
- Reddit.com – r/AskReddit