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How's your father

noun, slang

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A whatsit; a thing which the speaker is unable or unwilling to specify more precisely. British, countable, slang

    "And meanwhile at the station, there's a couple of likely lads Who swear like how's your father, and they're very cool for cats."

  2. 2
    Sexual intercourse. British, euphemistic, slang, uncountable

    "I popped round Mary's for a bit of how's your father."

Etymology

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).

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