also: なんじゃそら
what's that?; what the ...
Colloquial exclamation expressing surprise, disbelief, or annoyance at something unexpected or absurd. Often used in casual speech, similar to 'What the heck is that?' or 'What on earth?'.
There's something weird on the desk. What the heck is that?
He suddenly said he's quitting. I was like, what the ...?
Variant with そら instead of そりゃ; slightly less common but still encountered.
Kana variant of 何じゃそら.
Colloquial contraction of 何だそれは (nan da sore wa), with じゃ (ja) being a casual copula and そりゃ (sorya) a contraction of それは (sore wa). The variant そら (sora) is a further contraction.