What is the origin of the phrase "How's your father"?  In British
English it is a euphemism for sex, used like "How about a bit of how's your
father?"

I have searched for this, and have found several references to it but
just one that offers an unlikely explanation:
  http://www.michaelkelly.fsnet.co.uk/qfather.htm

This seems like a joke to me, but of course I may be wrong! :)

Hello zigzag0021,

Apparently, Eric Partridge noted the origin of this phrase in  "A
Dictionary of Catch Phrases" and "A Dictionary of Slang and
Unconventional English" (cited slightly inaccurately as "Dictionary of
Slang and Unconventional Usage").

According to one source, Partridge quotes John Brophy, his co-author
on another book, "Songs and Slang of the British Soldier: 1914-18", as
saying:

"When the War [WW1] broke out, the new armies subsisted for a time on
what catch phrases the music-halls produced.  'How's your father?' was
one of the most popular, turned to all sorts of ribald, ridiculous and
heroic uses.  This was the last utterance of at least one dandified
but efficient subaltern, dying of stomach wounds."

"Re: How's your father?", posted by R. Berg (October 16, 2002)
The Phrase Finder
http://phrases.shu.ac.uk/bulletin_board/16/messages/317.html

The other source likewise cites Partridge as stating that this was "a
catch phrase from the music-halls which 'turned to all sorts of
ribald, ridiculous and heroic uses' during W.W.1".

"Re: How's-your-father", posted by Robert M. Wilson (1996/10/16)
<alt.usage.english>
Google Groups
http://groups.google.com/groups?threadm=541i11%2489b%40cliff.island.net

So it appears that Michael Kelly's explanation, cited in your
question, is indeed just a joke or idle speculation.

I hope that this information is helpful.

- justaskscott-ga


Search terms used on Google's Web Search and Google Groups:

slang "how's your father"

---

Request for Answer Clarification by zigzag0021-ga on 20 Feb 2003 18:37 PST

Do you know how the phrase came to mean "sex"?  If it was used in all
kinds of ways, how did this one come to be the one we know of and use
today?

---

Clarification of Answer by justaskscott-ga on 20 Feb 2003 19:20 PST

According to a later post in the alt.usage.english thread cited in my
answer, Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable indicates that "how's
your father" gained this connotation well after World War I.

"Re: How's-your-father", posted by Markus Laker (1996/10/18) 
<alt.usage.english> 
Google Groups 
http://groups.google.com/groups?threadm=326f5c94.3711571%40news.tcp.co.uk

The only other clue I have found is that the phrase was popularized in
the Carry On series of films.  See, for example:

"Moving Pictures: APF Chapter 4: Discworld Annotations" [near bottom
of page, under heading "p. 245/204"]
The Annotated Pratchett File, v7a.5, collected and edited by Leo
Breebaart (Last modified: 25 July 2002, Version number: 7a.5.3.5)
The L-Space Web
http://www.co.uk.lspace.org/books/apf/moving-pictures.html

Thank for your answer - and clarification.  It's surprising how little
hard info is actually out there, but thanks for the pointers.

A number of web pages define "how's your father" as Cockney rhyming
slang for "lather."

For example:

http://www.cockneyrhymingslang.co.uk/list.asp?order=slangtoenglish&letter=H

http://www.nonsololondra.it/corsi/cockney.html#H

http://www.phespirit.info/cockney/slang_to_english.htm#H

It's certainly possible to imagine a connection between lather and
sex, but I didn't find any reference that explicitly presents this
etymology.

I agree that the www.michaelkelly.fsnet.co.uk explanation is a joke.

--efn

I think this mutated into "who's your daddy?"

Searching with spellings like "Ow's/ows yer father/farver" produces a
few scraps, like this rhyme from a newsgroup discussion:

"I seem to remember a question-and-answer catch phrase which was
probably used on the halls:

Q: " 'Ows yer faaver?"
A: " Orlright!"
Q: " 'Ows yer muvver?"
A: " She's tight!"

Spelling from Punch magazine from around 1910."
http://groups.google.co.uk/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&threadm=99soil%24e87%241%40ames.central.susx.ac.uk&rnum=1&prev=/groups%3Fq%3D%2522ows%2B*%2Bfather%2BOR%2Bfaaver%2BOR%2Bfarver%2522%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8%26selm%3D99soil%2524e87%25241%2540ames.central.susx.ac.uk%26rnum%3D1

"Ow's yer farver? All right!" is the last line of the classic music
hall song "Knees Up Mother Brown" (still well known in England).
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~morgan/cheryl/songs.html#Knees

But there were at least three songs of the music hall period actually
called "How's Your Father"
"[1] How's your father?. Kiss him on his old bald head. H Rule. F Holt
Rule. H
1922
[2] Push and go. How's your father. arr.
How's your father. two-step. founded on [the] song
Darewski. Herman
1915
[3] How's your Father? [Song.] Written and composed by Harry Wincott.
[Staff and tonic sol-fa notation.]
Wincott. Harry
1915"

British Library Catalogue
http://blpc.bl.uk/

see also:
http://www.hissboo.co.uk/musichall_songs.shtml

Meant to include this in my previous comment:

"HOW”S-YER-FATHER noun [20th century] 1. sexual intercourse 2.
nonsense, rubbish 3. occasionally used as a general euphemism, ‘swear
like how’s-yer-father,’
[..edited..]
[coined in a music-hall sketch performed by the comedian Harry Lauder
(1870-1950) and popularized by services during WWI]

[[note: 1. In Cassell’s, no plus after the 20th century implies that
it is no longer in use, so probably will only now find phrase in older
pieces, but not in current speech (I think). 2. Scotsman Harry Lauder
singer, song writer, comedian entertained both British and American
troops in the battlefield during WWI and was knighted by King George V
for his service]]"

Other contributors to the discussion assert, correctly, that it is
still in use.

The Word Wizard
http://www.wordwizard.com/clubhouse/founddiscuss.asp?Num=3127