# how's your father

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. A whatsit; a thing which the speaker is unable or unwilling to specify more precisely.
2. Sexual intercourse.

## 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).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/how-s-your-father