Are you wondering what the term 'Whatupdoe' means? It's distinctly Detroit.

Hall of Fame wide receiver Calvin Johnson joined Barry Sanders and several current Detroit Lions in firing up the crowd at the start of the 2024 NFL draft held in downtown Detroit with a familiar greeting to the hometown fans.

"I got just one thing to say," Johnson told the crowd. "Whatupdoe!"

O.K., since you asked, here's what this ubiquitous, long-used, uniquely Detroit colloquial greeting means.

1) Whatupdoe! — all one word; 2) What up doe, written in three words, also is a common, acceptable use. While often followed with an exclamation point, such punctuation is not always necessary, it just depends on context and how it is used by the subject.

Usage: Similar to the Hawaiian "Aloha," "Whatupdoe!" can mean hello or goodbye. "Doe" is a contraction of the word "though" and does not represent an actual person or a female hoofed ruminant ungulate of the Cervidae family (a female deer).

Alternate meanings: What are you doing? What do you want to do (casually/collegially, or in response to another's use of fighting words) i.e: "I'll whoop yo' a--!" Response — "Whatupdoe?!" Note the change in punctuation, with the addition of a question mark followed by the exclamation point for emphasis. This iteration is typically used with the physical gesture of hands raised or outstretched, signaling it's about to go down/the proverbial poop is about to hit the fan.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 'Whatupdoe!' A beginner's guide to the distinctly Detroit greeting