Meanings
- idiomaticrhetoricoften satiricalPointing out that a current situation, plan, or set of circumstances does not make sense, or contains an obvious flaw.
Origin
May have originated from a section in the children’s magazine Highlights, in which a drawing of a seemingly ordinary situation is shown, along with various outlandish and nonsensical gags.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
what’s wrong with this picture?. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/what%E2%80%99s%20wrong%20with%20this%20picture%3F
“what’s wrong with this picture?.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/what%E2%80%99s%20wrong%20with%20this%20picture%3F. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “what’s wrong with this picture?,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/what%E2%80%99s%20wrong%20with%20this%20picture%3F.
Source: what’s wrong with this picture? on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.