How is tricks with you

It all goes back to the game of Bridge. In the game of contract bridge you bid that you'll win a certain number of tricks each round. Taking a trick is playing the highest value card of the four played that turn. So, asking "How's tricks" is asking Bridge was most popular in the 30s and 40s and that was the height of the use of the phrase as well. As the popularity of Bridge declined, so did the use of the phrase. Though in recent years it's been gaining in use again.

My assumption in how it got linked to prostitution was card playing pimps. A girl was expected to have a certain number of customers a night the bid and those were the tricks. If you didn't make your book for the night, you lost the round You may here it mentioned in old descriptions as vulgar, but you have to remember that word has changed as well.

All slang was vulgar. December 23, at PM. Talk about synchronicities! Was just thinking of the origins of this phrase,"how's tricks? My husband's name is Nate and his younger brother's name is Ben. Our last name begins with H so their Mom is called Mrs. H all the time!

Wonderful blog! Have a good year! January 15, at PM. You're all wrong The prostitutes and pimps references are seriously silly! March 20, at AM. Google books search shows an reference for the use of "How's tricks?

I can't find any references to "How's Trixie and the kids? Ngrams shows it's use peaked in , but has been creeping back up since the low point in the 60s. How's trix is not really used that much in comparison. Personally, I remember it as being spelled with an 'x' and having connotations of prostitution, though I don't remember where I first heard it. January 6, at PM. Deb Chasteen said…. My delightful grandmother, born in , would winsomely cock her white-curled head and make an entrance with "How's tricks?

However, she would never have used any word at all sexual in nature: she and my great-aunt lived as though they were fixed to the 30s. It was a fun, sprightly greeting to her. Also, keep in mind words change with time: 'vulgar' to 'common' to 'slang'. August 18, at AM. October 24, at PM. My only exposure to "how's tricks" was in the early 's. I worked in a store in Princeton, N.

J, and a lady of very proper standing, from the west end of town, who also knew my parents well, would greet me with it whenever she came to the store. I am absolutely confident that this lady would never have used an expression that even remotely resembled sexual innuendo.

It was simply a kind and casual greeting. November 3, at PM. Alisen said…. December 18, at AM. Ahamed said…. The internet has made it very easy for people to use a range of information. As others have stated, an informal greeting meaning "Hello, how are you? But the true spelling should be Trix with a capital T because of its origin, which no one seems to know: It was still an informal greeting, started in the early 20th century; but the entire phrase was "How are Trixie and the kids?

Trixie was short for Beatrix , or Beatrice a popular female name of the era and came to be known as slang for "the wife". Over time the phrase was shortened to simply "How's Trix? How's Tricks. I've been staying with a mate from out of town. How's tricks with you? How's tricks. No wonder I'm such a success at parties. To me How's tricks? Wookie Senior Member Korea, Korean. I hear people say "how's tricks" when they greet each other. If someone says "how's tricks? You would respond just as you would to the question, "How are things?

Would it be ok if I say "I've been doing good"? Wookie said:. JamesM said:. I don't what others would say, but to me "how's tricks? While perhaps not the commonest greeting in the UK, it doesn't strike me as particularly old-fashioned.

It has come to be generally used as a way of saying "how is business" or "how are things". But that is definitely where it originated Salvage Senior Member Columbus, Ohio.

I know the expression and regard it as a bit dated. I don't recall ever seeing it written out, and I have always assumed that the phrase is "How's Trix? The name Beatrice is out of fashion now, but perhaps there was a well known woman named Beatrice or Trix or Trixie.

Or maybe it was very, very common name in some circles. I have a long dead relative who was always called Trixie. Simply as a nickname, Ewie! No wise cracks please. Last edited: Jan 31, Try this Ngram which shows that it peaked circa , nevertheless has slowly but steadily been picking up the past 35 years.

If you play with the language selector, you will also see that it is more of an American thing.