“And how’s (reflexive) yourself?”

I hear it all the time: “How are you?” The answer, “Fine, and how’s yourself?” Sounds a bit grand, doesn’t it?

Words such as yourself, myself, itself, herself, and himself (Nooooo, not “hisself”) are called “reflexive pronouns” because they “reflect” the subject: You may be kidding yourself.

But when the “self” pronoun does not reflect the sentence subject, please change it.
Not: You may think you’re kidding myself, but you’re not.
Instead: You may think you’re kidding me, but you’re not.

Not: He’s a great kidder, just like yourself.
Instead: He’s a great kidder, just like you.

The “self” words used as bad examples above simply mark the speaker or writers as overdoing the grammar bit. Pretentious. Please don’t use words just because they sound grand.