Cockney rhyming slang
Cockney rhyming slang (sometimes abbreviated as
CRS) is a form of
English slang which originated in the
East End of London.
Rhyming slang works by replacing words with short phrases that rhyme with them. For instance, the term "boat race" would be used to refer to one's face, as "race" rhymes with "face". Often, to quicken speech, the phrase is abbreviated to only the first word or syllable. So, in a similar fashion, "plates" would be "feet" ("plates of meat"), and "bread" would mean "money" ("bread and honey").
The origins of rhyming slang are disputed. Some suggest it developed as a way of obscuring the meaning of sentences to those who did not understand, such as non-locals. However, it remains a matter of speculation as to whether this was a
linguistic accident; it was developed intentionally to assist
criminals; or it was chiefly used to maintain a sense of
community.
The proliferation of rhyming slang has meant many of its expressions have passed into common language, and the creation of new ones is no longer restricted to Cockneys. Some substitutions have become relatively widespread in
Britain, such as "have a
butcher's" (which means to have a look, from the rhyming slang "butcher's hook"), and these are often now used without awareness of the original rhyming slang. Such is the extent of this that terms like "
berk" (from
Berkeley Hunt, meaning "
cunt") and "
cobblers" (from "cobbler's awls", meaning "balls") are both less
taboo than their
etymology would suggest. Despite this, most other actual and purported substitutions are still not in common usage.
This style of rhyming has spread through many English-speaking countries, where the original phrases are supplemented by rhymes created to fit local needs. Creation of rhyming slang has become a
word game for people of many classes and regions. The term 'Cockney' rhyming slang is generally applied to these expansions to indicate the rhyming style; though arguably the term only applies to phrases used in the East End of London. Similar formations do exist in other parts of the United Kingdom; for example, in the
East Midlands, the local accent has formed "Derby Road", which rhymes with "cold": a conjunction that would not be possible in any other dialect of the UK.
All slang is rooted in the era of its origin, and therefore some of the meaning of its original etymology will be lost as time passes. In the 1980s, for example, "
Kerry Packered" meant "
knackered"; in the 1990s, "Veras" referred to
Rizla rolling papers ("
Vera Lynns" = "skins" = Rizlas), as popularized in the song "Ebeneezer Goode" by
The Shamen; and in 2004, the term "Britneys" was used to mean "
beers" (or in
Ireland to mean "
queers") via the music artist "
Britney Spears".
Australian English shares some Cockney rhyming slang and also has many of its own terms. (See:
Australian rhyming slang.) Some people have speculated that this is due to a strong formative influence of Cockneys on
Australian culture.
In the
United States some common slang seems to have had its origin in Cockney rhyming slang: "raspberry," shortened from "
raspberry tart" meaning
fart; "
dukes" means fists; "duke it out" means settle an argument via
fisticuffs; "
bread" means
money; "creamed" means beaten (interestingly, in the UK "creamed" can also mean "exhausted", from the rhyme of "cream crackered" and "knackered"). In
Gangs Of New York by Herbert Asbury (1927), there is an appendix of 19th-century underworld slang that includes several examples of rhyming slang, such as "Cain and Abel" for a chair and table, but these usages have died out.
In
Scotland a new form of rhyming slang has developed, both in
Scottish English and
Scots."Are ye corned, I said 'sit doon on yer chorus and we'll have a wee salvador.' Mine's a
Mick Jagger by the way." ('Corned' is short for 'corned beef', as in '
deif', meaning '
deaf'; 'Chorus' is from 'chorus and verse', rhyming with arse, the Scots word for
buttocks; 'Salvador', as in 'Dali', rhymes with 'Swallie', meaning 'drink'; 'Jagger' means lager.) It has been noted by the Edinburgh author and journalist
Irvine Welsh that rhyming slang with Cockney origin is now more likely to be used and developed in Scotland than in the East End of London, giving rise to formations that rely on the Scottish accent for their effect (see 'Denis Law' = 'snow' for example).
In
Northern Ireland another form of rhyming slang has arisen. For example, "
potato bread" can mean dead, while the word "loaf" (from a loaf of bread) usually means head. Also, continued from loaf of bread the word bap is usually used to describe hair.
In the
Republic Of Ireland, and mostly in
Dublin, "Brown" is taken to mean "dead" (Brown Bread) and is widely used. Taxi's are widely referred to as "Jo-ers" as a result of a popular RTE tv programme in the early 1990s called "Jo-Maxi", while Cycling is referred to as George Michael-ing. "Sally", a shortened form of "Sallynogin" - a suburb of Dublin - means head. "Creamer" or "Cream Cracker" means "knacker", basically someone down at heel, scruffy and of dubious morals, (although it does have it's roots in being a derogatory term for the Irish travelling community). "I was going to George Michael home, but it was raining, so i called a Jo-er. I hit my Sally on the door getting in to the back of the Joe Maxi, and I thought I was brown! I looked like a Creamer getting out!"
While not exactly rhyming slang, the LUAS tram system in Dublin is usually referred to as a "Jerry Lee" or a "Huey" - playing on the surname "Lewis".
Dubliners are well known for their ryhming associations, although it would not qualify as "rhyming slang" in the traditional sense. The statue of
Molly Malone is known as the "Tart with the Cart", the millenium countdown clockin the
River Liffey was known as the "Time in the Slime", the Millenium Spire as the "Stiletto in the Ghetto" and a famous statue of two old ladies shopping as the "Hags with the Bags". All derivitave of the O'Connell St statue/fountain of Anna Livia in the early 1990's as the "Floozy in the Jaccuzi" or the "Hoor (whore) in the Sewer".
There is a set of specialist rhyming slang terms used by some members of the British disabled community to describe medical conditions. This is sometimes termed "disability rhyming slang" and shares the same style, and some of the same phrases, as the more traditional rhyming slang.
* Musical artists such as
Audio Bullys and
The Streets use Cockney rhyming slang in almost all of their songs, while Cockney artists
Chas and Dave regularly use Cockney rhyming slang in their songs. The term "Chas and Dave" is also cockney rhyming slang for "shave".
Ian Dury who used rhyming slang throughout his career, even wrote a song for his solo debut
New Boots And Panties! entitled Blackmail Man, an anti-racist song that utilized numerous derogatory rhyming slang for various ethnic minorities.
* Rhyming slang is also often used in
feature films, such as
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) (which contains a glossary of Cockney rhyming slang on the United States
DVD version to assist the viewer), and on
television (e.g.
Minder,
EastEnders) to lend authenticity to an East End setting. The theme song to
The Italian Job, composed by
Quincy Jones, contains many Cockney rhyming slang expressions. The lyrics by
Don Black amused and fascinated the composer. Additionally, the schoolkid characters in the film
To Sir With Love regularly speak in Cockney rhyming slang, which their new teacher
(Sidney Poitier) finds impossible to understand; the film
Austin Powers in Goldmember features a dialogue between Austin Powers and his father Nigel entirely in Cockney rhyming slang; and although due to its working-class origins rhyming slang is not generally associated with royalty, the character of
Prince Wendell is heard to use Cockney rhyming slang on occasion in the
television movie,
The 10th Kingdom.
* The box office success
Ocean's Eleven (2001) contains an apparent example of Cockney rhyming slang, when the character Basher Tarr (
Don Cheadle) uses the slang "Barney" to mean "trouble," derived from
Barney Rubble. In common usage, "Barney" does not mean trouble; it means an argument or a fight. Some argue that it is derived from "Barn Owl" which (in a Cockney accent) nearly rhymes with "row" (argument). However, the book
Understanding British English, by Margaret E. Moore, Citadel Press, 1995, does not list "Barney" in its "Rhyming Slang" section. Furthermore,
Slang and Its Analogues, by J.S. Farmer and W.E. Henley and originally printed in 1890, states that "Barney" (which can mean anything from a "lark" to a "row") is of unknown origin, and was used in print as early as 1865.
* The film
Green Street Hooligans (2005) features usage of Cockney rhyming slang as well as a brief explanation of the process the slang is derived from.
* In the book
Trainspotting, by
Irvine Welsh, several of the characters use the phrase
Joe Baxi to refer to a taxicab (taxi).
* The film
The Limey (1999) feature Terrence Stamp as Wilson a Cockney man recently released from prison who spices his conversations with rhyming slang:
:Wilson: Can't be too careful nowadays, y'know? Lot of "tea leaves" about, know what I mean? ::Warehouse Foreman: Excuse me? ::Wilson: Tea leaves... thieves.
* In the film
The Football Factory the character of Zebedee is berated for his occasional use of "that fucking muggy rhyming slang" by Billy Bright.
*
Apples = apples and pears = stairs â€" e.g. "Get up them apples!"
*Barnet =
Barnet Fair = hair â€" e.g. "What's the matter with your Barnet?"
*China = China plate = mate â€" e.g. "He's my China."
*Dukes = Duke[s] of York = fork, i.e. hand, now chiefly when balled into a fist
*Frog = frog and toad = road â€" e.g. "I was crossing the frog."
*Rosie =
Rosie Lee = tea â€" e.g. "Have a cup of Rosie."
*Thrups = thrupenny bits = tits â€" e.g., "She's got a nice pair of thrups."
*
British undergraduate degree classification slang*
Collection of Cockney slang*
Online dictionary of rhyming slang*
Collection of disability rhyming slang*
Rockney Rhyming Slang, rhyming slang related to rock music*
Cockney Alphabet*
Webster's Cockney Rhyming Slang-English Dictionary*
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