Green’s Dictionary of Slang

hello, how are you? (cf. how is it (there)? phr.).

1935		S. Kingsley Dead End Act I: angel: Howza wawda, Tommy? tommy: Boy! Duh nuts!
1938		X. Herbert Capricornia (1939) 278: Frank did not shake hands. He saluted with a finger, saying, ‘Howzit?’.
1996		CyberBraai Lex. at www.matriots.com 🌐 When foreign friends call Main Street South Africa, they routinely start conversations with ‘So, howzit?’, to which we routinely reply: ‘Fixed up.’.
1999		J. Ridley Love Is a Racket 72: Eddie there to greet us with a ‘Hey, howzit?’.
2010		Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) 8 Jan. 🌐 ‘Howzit’ — I use that word everyday, and the response should bwe ‘lekker, man’ or ‘cool by the pool’.
2022		in D. Andrew Aussie Sl.