where it's at

English

Adjective

where it's at (not comparable)

1. (informal) cool, trendy
   • 5 March 2012, Daily Telegraph, Stockholm: on the trail of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo[1]

     In fact, for armchair sleuths, Scandinavia — where waterfronts swiftly segue into gritty, albeit imagination-based, crime scenes — is where it's at.

   • 1973, Performance objectives in education, Educational Technology Publications, Incorporated:

     Too many students learn another discrimination, between school and the "real world." That discrimination is the source of the concern for relevance. When a student concludes that education is not "where it's at," he is ready to drop out physically or turn off psychologically.

2. (informal) true, truthful
   • 1965, Bob Dylan (lyrics and music), “Positively 4th Street”:

     You say I let you down, you know it's not like that. If you're so hurt why then don't you show it? You say you lost your faith but that's not where it's at. You have no faith to lose and you know it.

See also

• place to be
• where you at