What?

So you've not heard something, the automatic reaction is what?
They repeat it to you but you still cant make out what they've said.
Again you say what? And again you can't make sense of it. By now you know this is it, this is my last chance. So you listen as hard as possibly possible, hoping that by listening and lip reading it will all become clear, but.... no.
Now you have choice, agree with a nod, small laugh/smile or make some sort of noise followed by a quick exit.

If we didn't follow the What x3 rule, we'd all be in what conversations forever!

On another related What issue, i once said WHAT and got told it was rude, so now i tend to say sorry or pardon.
But is it really rude? It's in the same family as Why, How and When? They're not considered rude. So my theory is that once upon a time an old man said something to someone and they said what? He repeated himself and they once again asked what? This went on for a few hours until he got really annoyed and said 'that's really rude!'. This person couldn't understand why he'd suddenly shouted at him, so blamed it on the word What. And from then on, if other people said what to him, he'd say 'that's rude!'.
Thus, the story of What being rude continues today.

The End.