"How's it hanging?"

Posted by Masakim on November 23, 2001

In Reply to: "How's it hanging?" posted by R. Berg on November 23, 2001

: : Does anybody know the origin of this phrase : "How's it hanging?" Does it come from back in the days when hanging was popular? Thanks

: Eric Partridge, Dictionary of Catch Phrases: American and British, from the Sixteenth Century to the Present Day, mentions some similar phrases that mean "How's your sex life?" They refer to the male organs and are "low" phrases (he says) of U.S. origin, dating from the 1920s.

how's it hanging? phr. [20C] a man-to-man greeting, what are you up to? how are you? ... ['it' being the penis]
how are they hanging? phr. [1970s+] jocular man-to-man greeting ... ['they' are testicles]
how's your hammer hangin'? phr. [1990s] (US) a phr. used to inquire about someone's state of well being; the typically facetious answer being: 'A little to the left and in the dirt.' ...
From Cassell's Dictionary of Slang by Jonathon Green

_How's it hangin'?_ or _How they hangin'?_ means: How's it going? Refers to male anatomy and female breasts -- depends on who you're addressing.
From University of Tennessee Student Questionnaire, 1991