wall interj.
[WPI] 1. An indication of confusion, usually spoken with a
quizzical tone: "Wall??" 2. A request for further explication.
Compare octal forty. 3.
[Unix, from `write all'] v. To send a message to everyone
currently logged in, esp. with the wall(8) utility.
It is said that sense 1 came from the idiom `like talking to a
blank wall'. It was originally used in situations where, after
you had carefully answered a question, the questioner stared at
you blankly, clearly having understood nothing that was
explained. You would then throw out a "Hello, wall?" to elicit
some sort of response from the questioner. Later, confused
questioners began voicing "Wall?" themselves.