Cockney Rhyming Slang, has it ever left you baffled?

[horseless carriage]

Have you ever come across Cockney rhyming slang? Here's an example: The dog & bone is the phone, but when used the rhyming word is omitted. "She's on the dog," isn't as rude as you might construe, it's simply that the word bone, which might have helped explain, has been omitted.

Others, that are more common are: Telling porkies. That's Porky pies....Lies. Look out, trouble's here. in this sentence trouble is trouble & strife.........wife.
Do you know any that are amusing, or baffling? Here's one that is common here in the UK. A toupee is know as a syrup. That's syrup of fig......wig.
So when you hear the term: He was wearing a dodgy syrup, he probably looked like this:

 

[Flarbalard]

I have never understood it. I don't know if I could grasp the context of trying to figure out what someone was talking about by figuring out the rhyme.

I knew what telling porkies meant, but I didn't know the origin. Thank you.

 

[Magna-Carta]

To the uninitiated, here is a translation of some of the rhyming slang in this video. Only with this in mind will you see the funny side of it. Some rhyming slang he might have made up just for the sketch.

“Trouble & Strife", Wife.
"Tea Leaf", Thief.
"Bricks & Mortar”, Daughter.
"Bees & Honey", Money.
“Burton-on-Trent”, Rent. (Burton-on-Trent is a town in Staffordshire, on the river Trent)
“Half Inch”, Pinch (To steal something)
“Almond Rocks”, Socks.
“Cherry Ripe”, Pipe.
“Dickie Dirt”, Shirt.
“Frog & Toad”, Road.
“How do you do’s”, Shoes.
“Westminster Abby”, Shabby.
"Cape of Good Hope”, Soap.
“Bushel and Peck”, Neck.
"Two Thirty", Dirty.
“Pen & Ink”, Stink.
"North & South", Mouth.
"Mince Pies", Eyes.
"I Suppose", Nose.
"Uncle Fred, Bread
"Stand at ease”, Peas
"Early Doors", Drawers. (old-fashioned British terms for underwear)
"George Raft", Draught.
"Rubber Dub", Pub.
"Tumble Down The Sink", Drink.
"Elephant’s trunk", Drunk.
"Cat & Mouse", House.
"Stewed Prune", Tune.

Oh... and "Richard The Third", can mean Turd, can also mean something else!)

There is more rhyming slang in the video than I've mentioned above, but maybe you will now be able to figure out the rest yourself:

 

[Magna-Carta]

 

[Salty]

Illyay ickstay otay igpay latin.

 

[CaliS]

Sometimes, when I watch a show with British speaking people - I have to turn on the subtitles.

So, I am sure that I will never understand what you all are talking about - but it's interesting and funny to read.

 

[hollydolly]

Have you ever come across Cockney rhyming slang? Here's an example: The dog & bone is the phone, but when used the rhyming word is omitted. "She's on the dog," isn't as rude as you might construe, it's simply that the word bone, which might have helped explain, has been omitted.

Others, that are more common are: Telling porkies. That's Porky pies....Lies. Look out, trouble's here. in this sentence trouble is trouble & strife.........wife.
Do you know any that are amusing, or baffling? Here's one that is common here in the UK. A toupee is know as a syrup. That's syrup of fig......wig.
So when you hear the term: He was wearing a dodgy syrup, he probably looked like this:
View attachment 459701

LOL..no never been baffled by it.. My first husband was a cockney... butcher boy....

..most people here where I live are londoners... anyway... so I hear cockney speech every day

 

[timoc]

Cockney Rhyming Slang, has it ever left you baffled?​

And then there is the wonderful Scouse accent, d'yenohwarrameenlyke, then we have the Geordie and Brummie ways of speaking, much more friendly than that cockney rhyming slang.

 

[Babs2u]

Have you ever come across Cockney rhyming slang? Here's an example: The dog & bone is the phone, but when used the rhyming word is omitted. "She's on the dog," isn't as rude as you might construe, it's simply that the word bone, which might have helped explain, has been omitted.

Others, that are more common are: Telling porkies. That's Porky pies....Lies. Look out, trouble's here. in this sentence trouble is trouble & strife.........wife.
Do you know any that are amusing, or baffling? Here's one that is common here in the UK. A toupee is know as a syrup. That's syrup of fig......wig.
So when you hear the term: He was wearing a dodgy syrup, he probably looked like this:
View attachment 459701

I seem to remember that Apples and Pears means stairs.

 

[Babs2u]

Brendan Behan's Borstal Boy was first published in 1958. It contains a lot of English and Irish slang.

 

[hollydolly]

Cockney Rhyming Slang, has it ever left you baffled?​

And then there is the wonderful Scouse accent, d'yenohwarrameenlyke, then we have the Geordie and Brummie ways of speaking, much more friendly than that cockney rhyming slang.

..and all of them are knocked into a cocked hat for understanding by non speakers... by my own cities' Dialect ( Glaswegian)

 

[Pam]

Thanks for posting about Cockney Rhyming Slang @horseless carriage and to you @Magna-Carta for the videos. Brought back many memories of my late husband and his family who were cockneys. Alhough I already knew some cockney slang such as apples and pears, Adam and Eve it, tea leaf etc.... I very soon added to that list. I think one of the first ones I learnt was Chalfonts.

 

[horseless carriage]

I very soon added to that list. I think one of the first ones I learnt was Chalfonts.

For the uninitiated Chalfonts, means the charming town of Chalfont St. Giles or piles. (haemorrhoids) Chalfonts was a new one on me but I didn't need Google to help work it out. Back where I lived in London haemorrhoids were always known as farmers. That's Farmer Giles.

Sometimes, when I watch a show with British speaking people - I have to turn on the subtitles.

So, I am sure that I will never understand what you all are talking about - but it's interesting and funny to read.

Let me help interpret: 'you'r 'avin' a bubble?' In Cockney, many a word is merged into the next. So you're having becomes you'r avin. Dropping the last letter from some of the words adds to the confusion. What then do you think that you'r avin a bubble might mean?
You are having a bubble bath...........laugh!

 

[BJintheUK]

For the uninitiated Chalfonts, means the charming town of Chalfont St. Giles or piles. (haemorrhoids) Chalfonts was a new one on me but I didn't need Google to help work it out. Back where I lived in London haemorrhoids were always known as farmers. That's Farmer Giles.


Let me help interpret: 'you'r 'avin' a bubble?' In Cockney, many a word is merged into the next. So you're having becomes you'r avin. Dropping the last letter from some of the words adds to the confusion. What then do you think that you'r avin a bubble might mean?
You are having a bubble bath...........laugh!

And don't forget that a bubble was a Greek person as well. From the phrase 'bubble and squeak' meaning Greek'.

Then there are the more recent ones that were invented for effect, such as the pub title 'Brahms & Lizt' (pissed, i.e. drunk).

 

[CaliS]

For the uninitiated Chalfonts, means the charming town of Chalfont St. Giles or piles. (haemorrhoids) Chalfonts was a new one on me but I didn't need Google to help work it out. Back where I lived in London haemorrhoids were always known as farmers. That's Farmer Giles.


Let me help interpret: 'you'r 'avin' a bubble?' In Cockney, many a word is merged into the next. So you're having becomes you'r avin. Dropping the last letter from some of the words adds to the confusion. What then do you think that you'r avin a bubble might mean?
You are having a bubble bath...........laugh!

HaHaHa !! That's awesome! I'd love to 'av a bubble!

 

[CaliS]

Cockney Rhyming Slang, has it ever left you baffled?​

And then there is the wonderful Scouse accent, d'yenohwarrameenlyke, then we have the Geordie and Brummie ways of speaking, much more friendly than that cockney rhyming slang.

Amazing that such a relatively small area has so many variations!!! I watched a video on You Tube about all the different accents there are in UK, and the different terms used for things. So interesting!!

 

[Paladin1950]

The first time I was waiting for my plane to London, at JFK Airport, there was a man with a thick Cockney accent. He said a few things to me, and I couldn't understand a single word that he said. I just smiled or nodded so he would think I knew what he said. He had a son with him, a small boy. When he talked to him, he sounded different. I think when the boy got close to me to say something, it was when I thought I heard him say, "Don't bother the bloke."

Later during my visit to London, I heard people with Cockney accents on television. I really didn't have much of a problem understanding them, since they knew how to enunciate better.

 

[Wombat]

Australia uses a lot of rhyming slang but because of the way they also shorten words they can become difficult to fathom.

A couple of examples

Captain = Captain Cook = look

Sepo = Septic = Septic Tank = Yank = US citizen