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Whatsit
- how 's your father (countable and uncountable, plural how's your fathers) (countable, slang, British) A whatsit; a thing which the speaker is unable or unwilling to specify more precisely.
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Aug 29, 2023 · how 's your father (countable and uncountable, plural how's your fathers) ( countable , slang , British ) A whatsit ; a thing which the speaker is unable or unwilling to specify more precisely. Synonyms: see Thesaurus: thingy
Origin of: How’s your father. How’s your father. Originally a British euphemism for a sexual encounter as in how about a bit of how’s your father? dates from the early 20th century and was popularised in a music hall act by the comedian Harry Tate before the First World War.
- Load of Cobblers
- How’s Your Father?
- All Mouth and No Trousers
- Bob’s Your Uncle
- By Hook Or by Crook
- On The Pull
- Spend A Penny
- Sweet Fanny Adams
This phrase, which means "a lot of rubbish or nonsense," has its origin in rhyming slang. The full phrase, Moore writes, is "a load of cobbler's awls," and awls rhymes with ... well, you can probably figure that out. So, don't use this one around anybody respectable.
Brits are all about keeping things proper, so they’ve come up with many fantastic slang terms for referring to stuff that would be considered untoward in polite company. "How’s your father?" is one of these phrases. According to Moore, this turn of the century phrase was probably coined by comedian Harry Tate, who used it to change the subject when...
Hailing from the north of England, this phrase is “used to describe a man whose sense of self-importance is in inverse proportion to his actual relevance,” Moore writes. The mouth refers to brash talk; trousers, of course, are pants.
It means “and there you are!” or “it’s that simple!” According to Moore, it’s thought to have originated in the late 1880s, when Arthur Balfour—nephew of the Victorian Prime Minister Robert Cecil—was appointed to be the Chief Secretary in Ireland though he had no qualifications. “So he got the job purely because Bob was his uncle,” Moore writes. “A...
“A very old phrase meaning to use any means possible and bearing no relation to criminals,” Moore writes. First used in the 14th century, it refers to peasants pulling down branches for firewood using either a bill-hook or a shepherd’s crook.
Another British slang term for something considered rude to talk about in plain terms. If you’re out at the pub and someone tells you they’re “on the pull,” it means they’re looking for someone to hook up with. Saucy!
This slang phrase for a visit to the bathroom “comes from the old practice, literally, of having to put a penny in the door of a public bathroom to use it,” Moore writes. It's only appropriate for informal settings, so don’t use it to ask where the restrooms are in a restaurant!
It means, essentially, f*** all, and though it sounds delightful, it has a dark historical origin: Fanny Adams was a real person, a child who was murdered and dismembered in 1867; she was nicknamed "Sweet Fanny Adams" during her murderer's trial and execution because of her youth and innocence. Not long after, the Royal Navy introduced tinned meat ...
Dec 26, 2015 · A Bit of How’s Your Father?, Slap and Tickle and Rumpy Pumpy are favourite ways for the over 40s to refer to sex, according to a survey. While under 40s prefer the distinctly more functional Hump, Get Laid and Get Some Action. No wonder the birth rate’s falling. Daily Mirror, 11 Feb. 2015.
What does the phrase how's your father mean? There are four meanings listed in OED's entry for the phrase how's your father . See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.
How’s Your Father. This is an extremely odd way of saying ‘sex.’. Brits can be prudes, and some will say just about anything to avoid saying the actual word, ‘how’s your father’ being just one option.
How’s your father, though, is first documented as a euphemism in something Alan Coren wrote in Punch as recently as 1968. Even today it can be used innocently in the sense...
