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COCKNEY RHYMING SLANG

Phrases for specific words

I would imagine most people have come across rhyming slang at some time or other, even if only in the movies - and may not even have realised it.  It is sort of texting in reverse - whereas texting abbreviates the actual words, rhyming slang is a longer version.

A lot of the phrases themselves have become shortened over the years e.g. Joanna (Piano), Tit for Tat (Hat) is shortened to "Titfer" and "I'm Boracic" means "I have no money".

The following lists some of the good old originals, whereas others have been added more recently.

As Ken Dryden points out "A lot of rhyming slang seems to be very localised and a lot of it very ephemeral (coming in and going out of use very quickly).

For example, back in the 1970's a pint of Gary Glitter was a pint of bitter but I doubt that's been used for over 30 years now. Likewise I was asked at cricket the other week if I fancied going for a Pascal Chimbonda! Now, the said Mr Chimbonda is a current Premiership footballer and I was actually being asked if I wanted to go for a stroll (WANDER) round the boundary with some of the other players. I suspect that particular phrase will have a very, very short lifespan!

 

WORD

PHRASE

Alone Todd Sloane
Arm Chalk Farm
Arse (backside/bottom) Khyber Pass
Balls Cobbler's Awls
Balti Basil Fawlty
Believe Adam and Eve
Boots Daisy Roots
Boozer Battlecruiser
Bottle Aristotle
Braces Ascot Races
Cab Sherbert Dab
Car Jam Jar
Cell Flowery Dell
Cheque Gregory Peck
Coat Weasel and Stoat
Cousin Baker's Dozen
Crap (sort of manure!) Pony and Trap
Curry Ruby Murray
Dance Kick and Prance
Daughter Bricks and Mortar
Dead Brown Bread
Deaf Mutt and Jeff
Draught George Raft
Drunk Elephant's Trunk

Ken Dryden

Eyes Mince Pies
Face Boat Race
Facts Brass Tacks
Fag (cigarette) Oily Rag
Feet Plates of Meat
Fiver (Five pounds) Lady Godiva
Flares (I.e. trousers) Lionel Blairs
Flying Squad Sweeney Todd
Fork Roast Pork
Gin Vera Lynn
Goal Sausage Roll
Greek Bubble and Squeakl
Hair Barnet Fair
Hat Tit for Tat (Titfer)
Head Loaf of Bread
Jewellery Tom Foolery
Judge Barnaby Rudge
Kid Dustbin Lid
Knickers Alan Whickers
Laugh Bubble bath (Robert Davis)
Lies Porky Pies
Lodger Artful Dodger
Look Butcher's Hook
Mate China Plate
Missus (wife) Cows and Kisses     Ken Dryden
Moan Darby and Joan
Money Bread and Honey
Mouth North and South
Nose Fireman's hose

(possibly rubber hose)           John Cole

Phone Dog and Bone
Piano Aunt Joanna
Piddle/Widdle (urinate) Jimmy Riddle
Piles Chalfont St. Giles
Piss (urinate) Gypsy's Kiss
Piss (urinate) Mickey Bliss
Pissed (drunk) Brahms and List
Pocket Sky Rocket
Prick Hampton Wick
Pub (Public House/Bar) Rub-a-Dub
Queen Baked Bean
Rent Duke of Kent
Road Frog and Toad
Shirt Dicky Dirt
Shit (sorry) Thrupney Bit*        Robert Davis

Tom Tit                          John Cole

A "thrupney bit" was a 3 pence piece before decimalisation in the UK

Shoes Dinky Doos
Sick Pat and Mick
Sick Tom and Dick
Sister Skin and Blister
Skint (no money) Boracic Lint
Skive Duck and Dive
Sneeze Bread and Cheese
Snout (tobacco/cigarette) Salmon and Trout
Soap Bob Hope
Socks Almond Rocks
Stairs Apples and Pears
Starving Hank Marvin
Stink (smell) Pen and Ink
Suit Whistle and Flute
Sun Currant Bun
Tea Rosie Lee
Ten Cock and Hen
Thief Tea Leaf
Tie Peckham Rye
Tight Isle of Wight

Ken Dryden

Titty Bristol City
Trousers Round the Houses
Trouble Barney Rubble

Jayme Gibbs

Walk Ball and Chalk
Wife Trouble and Strife
Wig Syrup of Figs
Window Tommy Trinder
Windy Mork and Mindy
Word Dicky bird

There are two others pages on this subject one listing phrases and the words they represent and the second providing examples of sentences using some cockney phrases.

 

 These pages refer to "Cockney" rhyming slang, I have, however, received the following suggestion from Joe Erfurt which emanates from elsewhere in the world.

STUFFING - Jimmy Ruffin

When I queried the source of this item Joe responded as follows:-

"The source for "Jimmy Ruffin" began back in 1981 in an Indian restaurant in Johannesburg.  At that time a group of us were trying to describe to others how rhyming slang is used to describe a myriad of things that occur within our daily lives.  This was the last time I saw a certain individual until two weeks ago when he travelled from California and dropped by to say hello.

We spoke of that meal back in 1981 during dinner at our house and inspiration just blurted out "would you like some Jimmy Ruffin with your chicken" I call it divine intervention rather than a traceable source.

Yes it is fictitious but the fact that four of us now know of its existence would suggest its compounded usage from hereonwards and thus we can catalogue its derivation."

How could I resist and remember, you heard it here first!


 

 

 

 

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