The phrase "How's it hangin'?" -- what does that mean?

[B_henry miller]

I had always assumed that this phrase "How's it hangin'?" referred to the penis. In other words, "How is your penis hanging?" But then one day when I was a teenager, a (female) teacher actually asked me that question. I laughed. And then I explained why I laughed. She said, "Oh, it doesn't mean that. It just means, you know, how are you doing? It's like asking someone if they are 'hanging out' or something."

Any thoughts?

 

[D_Jared Padalicki]

From Cali and not knowing what it means.... Weird. just the same as 'how is it going'

 

[B_henry miller]

What does being from California have to do with knowing what this really means?

 

[D_Martin van Burden]

For the most part, it's not a literal ask about the affairs of someone's dick.

 

[chadstallion]

i use it for the double meaning it implies.
use it to tease a couple str8 guys; other times just as an alternative to 'what's up' ? which, cum to think of it, can have the double meaning, too :wink:

 

[nicenycdick]

Eric Partridge in A Dictionary of Catch Phrases American and British mentions some similar phrases that mean "How's your sex life?" He states that the phrases do refer to the male organs and are "low" phrases" of U.S. origin, dating from the 1920s.

They are:

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.' ...

And, from Cassell's Dictionary of Slang (1998) by Jonathon Green:
"'How's it hangin'?' or 'How they hangin'?' means: 'How's it going?' and refers to male anatomy and female breasts, depending on who you're addressing.
(based on a University of Tennessee Student Questionnaire, 1991)

I figured that they did all the work...I might as well give 'em credit for it.

 

[B_henry miller]

So, it does ultimately refer to the penis. I was right.