expressionsword-usage
I was watching "Friends" the other day when this conversation popped up. I am a little bit confused with this expression-"You got me." What does it mean?
What does the speaker intend to say?
Phoebe : I can’t believe you–did this.
So, what’s the deal with uh you and Joey?Ursula : Oh, right. He is so great. But that’s over.
Phoebe : Does he know?
Ursula : Who?
Phoebe : Joey. You know, um, he’s really nutsy about you.
Ursula : He is? Why?
Phoebe : You got me.
"On" is one of those words that have quite a lot of meanings, plus it is used in lots of phrases with various meanings. The meaning of on, in the term used is this (from yourdictionary):
adjective
arranged or planned for: tomorrow's game is still on
also read through all of the meanings here to try to get the feeling for the patterns.
Now, as to why "You" instead of "I" - well, usually the phrase is used to answer a challenge, and in this case it is more natural to say "You are on" because it is the challenge that has conditions that needs to be activated, accepted or started (there is some semantical overlap between the word "on" and these verbs). Also, you could have several challenges at the same time from several people - saying "I am on" would be ambiguous in that scenario, where "You are on" is not.
This looks to be an easter egg of sorts in Skype. In any case, as a native speaker I'll tell you it doesn't make sense as a response here. I found this relevant conversation on Twitter:
George Eastmead @GEastmead Sep 19:
Why does Skype eternally suggest 'Gates open!' as a suggested response to almost anything?!
Skype @Skype
Because "Gates Closed!" sounds so much less inviting! http://msft.social/D7d1tu
That last link leads to this gif, making it clear it's a reference to Wimbledon.
Best Answer
I use this expression to say "I don't really know." Phoebe wants to say "I don't know why he's nutsy about you. You got me."