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      • 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.
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  2. Aug 29, 2023 · how +‎ is +‎ your +‎ father. A popular catchphrase of the 1910s popularised by music-hall entertainer Harry Tate, who used it for comic effect to change the subject away from one about which his character was ignorant (hence sense 1) or a taboo subject (hence sense 2).

  3. 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. When caught in a compromising situation, Harry would desist and then ask innocently, “And how ...

  4. how's your father. sexual intercourse. British informal. A pre-World War I music-hall catchphrase, how's your father was earlier used to mean ‘nonsense’ before acquiring its present sexual sense. It is now used also to refer to a man's penis. See also: father. Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017. See also: a spot of how's your father.

  5. 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.

    • 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 ...

  6. 4 days ago · Definition of 'how's-your-father' how's-your-father in British English. (ˈhaʊzjəˈfɑːðə ) noun. British euphemistic. sexual intercourse. She said that two weeks is a long time to go without a bit of how's-your-father. Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers. Examples of 'how's-your-father' in a sentence. how's-your-father.

  7. 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. The survey was commissioned by the retailer Holland ...

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