how's she cuttin'?

What it means

1. 1.

   How are things? A rural greeting, now used mostly by older men or knowingly by younger speakers for comic effect. The 'she' refers to nothing in particular.

In use

• How's she cuttin', Mick?

• How's she cuttin'? — Divil a bit wrong with her.

  Note: The full exchange is now largely performed rather than spoken straight.

Where it comes from

Origin uncertain. The usual explanations — a scythe or a plough cutting well, or a boat cutting through water — are guesses rather than documented, and the impersonal 'she' is the same one in 'she's a fine day'. Treat any confident account of it with suspicion.

Other forms

Spellings and variants:

how's she cutting