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 is your father?” In more recent years, since the 1950s, a bit of how’s your father can also refer to anything that is a bit dodgy, including a bout of fisticuffs.