how do you do

¹

interjection

1. (used as a conventional greeting.)

how-do-you-do

²

Also how-de-do

[hou-duh-yuh-doo]

noun

Informal.

plural

how-do-you-dos 

1. a greeting; salutation.

   She smiled and gave him a how-do-you-do fit for a king.

2. an awkward or unpleasant event or situation.

   It's a fine how-do-you-do that they've refused to help us out.

how do you do

1. Also: how do?.  how d'ye do?. a formal greeting said by people who are being introduced to each other or are meeting for the first time

noun

1. informal,  a difficult situation

Word History and Origins

Origin of how do you do¹

First recorded in 1625–35

Idioms and Phrases

A conventional greeting used mostly after being introduced to someone, as in And this is our youngest—say “How do you do” to Mr. Smith. Although it is a question, it requires no reply. Originally, in the 1600s, this expression was an inquiry after a person's health or standing, how do you do meaning “how do you fare?” Today we usually express this as How are you? or How are you doing? or How goes it? or How's it going? Even more general are the slangy locutions How are things? or How's tricks? All of these greetings date from the first half of the 1900s.

Example Sentences

“How do you do, Miss Lumley?” said Mrs. Worthington, clasping her hand.

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“Beowulf Incorrigible. How do you do?”

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He cast his eyes about the room and said, “Mmmph mmmph mmmph mmmph?” by which he obviously meant, “How do you do?”

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“How do you do, miss? Simon Harley-Dickinson, at your service. I live upstairs.”

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“I am Miss Penelope Lumley. How do you do?”

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Related Words

• hello 
• nod 
• ovation 
• reception 
• salute