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Rhymingslang
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Rhymingslang isaformofslanginwhichawordisreplacedbyarhymingword,typicallythesecondwordofatwowordphrase(so stairs becomes" applesandpears ").Thesecondwordisthenoftendroppedentirely(" I'mgoinguptheapples "),meaningthattheassociationoftheoriginal wordtotherhymingphraseisnotobvioustotheuninitiated. Theexactoriginofrhymingslangappearstobeunclear,partlybecauseitexiststosomeextentinmanylanguages.InEnglish,rhymingslangis stronglyassociatedwithCockneyspeechfromtheEastEndofLondon.

OverviewofCockneySlang

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Theoriginofthislinguisticphenomenonisuncertain.Itremainsamatterofspeculationastowhetheritwasalinguisticaccidentorwhetheritwasa cryptolectdevelopedintentionallytoconfusenonlocals.Ifdeliberate,itmayhavebeenusedtomaintainasenseofcommunity.Itispossiblethatit wasusedinthemarketplacetoallowvendorstotalkamongstthemselveswithoutcustomersknowingwhattheyweresaying.Anothersuggestionis thatitmayhavebeenusedbycriminals (seethieves'cant) toconfusethepolice. Inrecentyears,thepracticeofdroppingtherhymingwordandusingjustthefirstwordinthepairhasbecomelesscommon,astheslanghascome tobeusedbypeoplewhodonotunderstand,orchoosenottoobey,thetraditionalrules.Theforminwhichthefullphraseisusedisnowassumed bymanypeopletobeauthenticCockneyrhymingslang.Intermsoftheoriginalcontext,thismodernformdoeslittletoservethepurposeof excludingoutsiders. Theproliferationofrhymingslangallowedmanyofitstraditionalexpressionstopassintocommonusageandthecreationofnewexpressions(often ironically)isnolongerrestrictedtoCockneys.SomesubstitutionshavebecomerelativelywidespreadinBritain,forexample"tohaveabutcher's", whichmeanstohavealook,from"butcher'shook".Examplesofthiskindareoftennowusedwithoutawarenessoftheirorigins.ManyEnglish speakersareobliviousofthefactthattheterm"useyourloaf"isderivedfrom"loafofbread",meaninghead.Thisalsoholdsforvarietiesofrhyming slanginotherpartsoftheworld:intheUnitedStatesacommonslangexpression,"brasstacks",maybearhymefor"thefacts"andthemost commonAustralianslangtermforanEnglishpersonis"pommy",whichisbelievedtohaveoriginatedasrhymingslangforimmigrant. [1] Somewordsaremuchlesstaboothantheiretymologywouldsuggest.Somepopulartermshavetheiroriginsinobscenity,like"berk"(oftenusedto mean"foolishperson")and"cobblers"(oftenusedtomean"whatyoujustsaidisrubbish"),areactuallyfromBerkeleyHunt,meaning"cunt,"and "cobbler'sawls",meaning"balls",respectively. Thenonnativespeakerneedstobecautiousinusingrhymingslangto"fitin".Theextentoftheuseoftheslangisoftenexaggerated.Inaddition, sincetheoriginalpurposewastoencodeordisguisespeechfromthecomprehensionofbystanders,termsthatbecometoo'wellknown'stillhavea tendencytoloseactualcurrencyfairlyquickly,puttingwhateverusagetheslangenjoysintoaconstantflux. ThisstyleofrhyminghasspreadthroughmanyEnglishspeakingcountries,wheretheoriginalphrasesaresupplementedbyrhymescreatedtofit localneeds.Creationofrhymingslanghasbecomeawordgameforpeopleofmanyclassesandregions.Theterm'Cockney'rhymingslangis generallyappliedtotheseexpansionstoindicatetherhymingstylethougharguablythetermonlyappliestophrasesusedintheEastEndof London.SimilarformationsdoexistinotherpartsoftheUnitedKingdomforexample,intheEastMidlands,thelocalaccenthasformed"Derby Road",whichrhymeswith"cold":aconjunctionthatwouldnotbepossibleinanyotherdialectoftheUK. Allslangisrootedintheeraofitsorigin,andthereforesomeofthemeaningofitsoriginaletymologywillbelostastimepasses.Inthe1980sfor example,"KerryPackered"meant"knackered"inthe1990s,"Veras"referredtoRizlarollingpapers("VeraLynns"="skins"=Rizlas),as popularizedinthesong"EbeneezerGoode"byTheShamenandin2004,theterm"Britneys"wasusedtomean"beers"(orinIrelandtomean "queers")viathemusicartist"BritneySpears".Alsoexistent,theterm"Posh&Becks"(referringtoTheBeckhams)insteadofsex.

Rhymingslanginpopularculture

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TheBritishcomedyseries MindYourLanguage (1977)featuresacharacter(caretakerSid)whousesCockneyrhymingslangextensively.The showalsohadawholeepisodededicatedtoCockneyrhymingslang. MusicalartistssuchasAudioBullys,TheStreets,andChas&Daveregularlyuserhymingslangintheirsongs.TheUKpunksceneofthelate 70sbroughtalongbandsthatglorifiedtheirworkingclassheritage:Sham69hadahitsong"TheCockneyKidsareInnocent"oftenaudience memberswouldchantthewords"Ifyou'reproudtobeaCockney,clapyourhands"inbetweensongs.Theterm"ChasandDave"isalsorhyming slangfor"shave".IanDurywhousedrhymingslangthroughouthiscareer,evenwroteasongforhissolodebutNewBootsandPanties!entitled BlackmailMan,anantiracistsongthatutilizednumerousderogatoryrhymingslangforvariousethnicminorities.Theidiomevenbrieflymadean appearanceintheUKbasedDJreggaemusicofthe80s,inthehit"CockneyTranslation"bySmileyCulturethiswasfollowedacoupleofyears laterbyDomenick&PeterMetro's"CockneyandYardie". Rhymingslangisoftenusedinfeaturefilms,suchas Lock,StockandTwoSmokingBarrels (1998)(theUnitedStatesDVDversioncomeswitha glossarytoassisttheviewer),andontelevision(e.g. Minder, OnlyFoolsandHorses , EastEnders )tolendauthenticitytoanEastEndsetting.In ToSirWithLove SidneyPoitier'sstudentsbafflehimwiththeiruseofrhymingslang. AustinPowersinGoldmemberfeaturesadialoguebetween

PowersandhisfatherNigelentirelyinrhymingslang.Thethemesongto TheItalianJob ,composedbyQuincyJones,containsmanyrhyming slangexpressionsthelyricsbyDonBlackamusedandfascinatedthecomposer. Thefilm GreenStreetHooligans (2005)featuresabriefexplanationoftheprocessbywhichrhymingslangisderived. Theboxofficesuccess Ocean'sEleven (2001)containsapieceofmadeuprhymingslang,whenacharacteruses"barney"tomean"trouble," andderivesitfromBarneyRubble.However,theuseof"barney"tomeananargumentorafightfarprecedestheFlintstonescartooncharacter BarneyRubblethoughtheoriginisunclear. [2]Whiletheusageof"barney"tomeanaltercationmayormaynothaveoriginallybeenrhyming slang,itsusageinthemovieinawaythatisdependentona1960seracartoontogettothemeaningof"trouble"isagoodexampleoftheever changingnatureofspeech. Thefilm TheLimey(1999)featuresTerrenceStampasWilson,aCockneymanrecentlyreleasedfromprisonwhospiceshisconversationswith rhymingslang: Wilson:Can'tbetoocarefulnowadays,y'know?Lotoftealeavesabout,knowwhatImean? WarehouseForeman:Excuseme? Wilson:"Tealeaves"..."thieves". Wilson:Eddy...yeah,he'smenewchina. Elaine:What? Wilson:"Chinaplate"..."mate". Inthefilm TheFootballFactory(2004)thecharacterofZebedeeisberatedforhisoccasionaluseof"thatfuckingmuggyrhymingslang"byBilly Bright. AnthonyBurgessusesrhymingslangasapartofthefictitious"Nadsat"dialectinhisbook AClockworkOrange . IntheDiscworldnovel GoingPostal,rhymingslangisparodiedwith"Dimwellarrhythmicrhymingslang,"whichislikerhymingslang,butdoesn't rhyme.Anexampleofthisisawigbeingaprune,aswig doesn't ,possiblybyacomplexsetofunspokenrules,rhymewith"syrupofprunes."(In Britainawidelyusedexampleofrealrhymingslangissyrup=syrupoffig(s)=wig). Inthefilm Mr.Lucky(1943),CaryGrant'scharacterteachesrhymingslangtohisfemalecompanion.Howeverthecharacterdescribesthisas Australianrhymingslang. OnSeptember19,2006,thecomicstrip GetFuzzyintroducedanewcharacter:MacMancMcManx,aManxcatandcousinofBuckyKatt. McManxusesaspeechpatternheavilybasedaroundCockneyrhymingslangandotherLondonslang,despitebeingfromManchester.These speechpatternsoftenmakeitalmostimpossiblefortheothercharacters,especiallySatchel,tounderstandhim. ThetitlecharacterintheChinaMivillenovel KingRat(1998novel) usesCockneyrhymingslanginthevastmajorityofhisdialogue. RonnieBarkerwroteaclassicsketchforthecomedyseries TheTwoRonnies inwhichavicardeliversanentiresermoninrhymingslang,alarge portionofwhichreferstoa"smallbrownRichardtheThird",whichseemstomeanturd,untilhesaysthatitflewbacktoitsnest. Cockneyrhymingslangisoccasionallyfeaturedasacategoryon Jeopardy! . TheIrishseriesofbooksandcolumnsRossO'CarrollKellyfrequentlyusesvariationsonrhymingslangpopular(orallegedlyso)amongmembers oftheDublin4population(forexample,"battlecruiser"="boozer"). TheDisneymovie OneHundredandOneDalmatians featuressomeCockneyrhymingslangbythetwopuppythieves.Notethattherhyming wordisalsoincluded,forexample"Alovelypairofturtle doves ". InGarthEnnis' TheBoys ,BillyButcherreferstoAmericansasSeptics,thenexplains"SepticTank:Yank". OntheLondonWeekendTelevisionsituationcomedyfromthe70s, No,Honestly,airheadedcharacterClarareferredtoonewoman"withthebig Birminghams."Herromanticpartner,C.D.,incredulous,askedherwhatshemeant,notrecognizingavalidrhymingslangreference(Birmingham City=Titty).Clara'sexplanationwas,"Oh,C.D.,it'srhymingslangBirminghamtownbosoms!"which,ofcourse,neitherrhymesnorisslang. ThisisaplayonwordsfromtherealrhymingslangwordforTittywhichis"Bristols"derivedfromanotherEnglishplacebeginningwithBBristol City. Inthenovel TheWomanBetweentheWorlds byF.GwynplaineMacIntyre,theprotagonistpurchasestworailwayticketstoBristolTempleMeads byrequesting"apairofBristols".Thisisanobliquereferencetotherhymingslangterm"BristolCities"="titties". Inthenewseriesof DoctorWho ,inepisodeoneofthe2ndseason,"NewEarth",originallybroadcastonApril15,2006,Cassandra(whois 'inhabiting'Rose'sbody)asksChiphowRosespeaks.Hereplies,"OldearthCockney."ShethenusesseveralexamplesofCockneyrhyming slang,including"I'mproceedinguptheapplesandpears"(stairs)and"Ijustdon'tAdamandEveit"(believeit) SexPistolSteveJones,onhisIndie103.1radioprogramJonesy'sJukebox,referstoadvertisingbreaksas"visitingtheDuke."(DukeofKent= paytherent.) TheKinks'album SomethingElseByTheKinks featuresasongcalled"HarryRag"(correctspellingisWRAGGlongdeceasedfamousjockey), whichisslangfora"fag"orcigarette.(Otherrhymingslangforacigaretteis'smokedtrout'meaning'snout'whichisanothertermfortobacco, often'paid'toinformants,particularlyinsidePrisons).IntheTVseries'TheSweeney',thecharacterplayedbyDenisWatermanwouldaskthe characterplayedbyJohnThaw"Howwedoin'forsnoutGuv?"meaning"howarewedoingforcigarettesboss?" InmostversionsofthegameDungeonsandDragons,thelanguage'thievestongue'bydescriptionusesrhymingslang. InthebookTheMysteryoftheDeadMan'sRiddlebyWilliamArden,amanleftariddleinhiswillcontainingcluesinCockneyrhymingslang directinghisheirstohistreasure. Inepisode5ofAlanPartridgeKnowingMeKnowingYouseries,AlanusesseveralcockneyrhymingtermswheninterviewingcharacterTerry NortonandusesseveralwellknowntermssuchasDogandbone(phone)andBowlerHat(chat).AlanuseshisownnewtermofAntique EdwardianTeaChesttodescribethetermGuestwhenfirstintroducingTerry.

Commonexamples
porkies=porkpies=lies apples=applesandpears=stairs Barnet=BarnetFair=hair Barney=BarneyRubble=trouble brass=brasscart="tart"=prostitute bristols=BristolCities=titties=breasts bubble=bubblebath=laugh dead'orse=deadhorse=tomatosauce

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dog=dogandbone=telephone jam=jamjar=car water=waterbottle=throttle china=chinaplate=mate(friend) pony=ponyandtrap=crap(todefecateormeaningsomethingisrubbish=notverygood) saucepan=saucepanlid=kid frog=frogandtoad=road RaspberryTart=fart(tobreakwind) Rosie=RosyLee=tea/gypsy Ruby=RubyMurray=Curry J.Arthur=J.ArthurRank=bank/wank(masturbate) Septic=SepticTank=Yank(American) trouble=troubleandstrife=wife(ifsheislistening:DuchessofFife) Tom=TomTit=shit(todefecateormeaningsomethingisrubbish=notverygood) tom=tomfoolery=jewellery skin=skinandblister=sister plates=platesofmeat=feet boat=boatrace=face Butcher's=Butcher'shook=Look whistle=whistleandflute=suit

References
1. 2.

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^The OxfordEnglishDictionarycitesawellknownAustralianweekly, TheBulletin ,whichon14November1912reported:"TheotherdayaPummy Grant(assistedimmigrant)washandedabridleandtoldtocatchahorse." OnlineOxfordEnglishDictionaryentryfor"Pomegranate" . ^Re:Havingabarney

Ayto,John.2002. TheOxfordDictionaryofRhymingSlang .OxfordUniversityPress. Franklyn,Julian.1960. ADictionaryofRhymingSlang .Routledge. Green,Jonathon.2000. Cassell'sRhymingSlang .Cassell. Lillo,Antonio(fullname,AntonioLilloBuades).1996."DrinkingandDrugAddictionTermsinRhymingSlang".In CommentsonEtymology25(6): pp.123. Lillo,Antonio.1998."OriginofCockneySlang DickyDirt ".In CommentsonEtymology27(8):pp.1620. Lillo,Antonio.1999."Moreon SausageandMash 'Cash'".InGeraldL.CohenandBarryPopik(eds.), StudiesinSlang.PartVI .PeterLang,pp. 8789. Lillo,Antonio.2000." Bees , Nelsons ,andSterlingDenominations:ABriefLookatCockneySlangandCoinage".In JournalofEnglishLinguistics 28(2):pp.145172. Lillo,Antonio.2001."TheRhymingSlangoftheJunkie".In EnglishToday17(2):pp.3945. Lillo,Antonio.2001."From AlsatianDog to WoodenShoe :LinguisticXenophobiainRhymingSlang".In EnglishStudies 82(4):pp.336348. Lillo,Antonio.2004."AWeeKeekatScottishRhymingSlang".In ScottishLanguage 23:pp.93115. Lillo,Antonio.2004."ExploringRhymingSlanginIreland".In EnglishWorldWide 25(2):pp.273285. Lillo,Antonio.2006."CutdownPuns".In EnglishToday22(1):pp.3644.

Seealso
Britishundergraduatedegreeclassificationslang Languagegame

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Lookup Rhymingslangin Wiktionary,thefreedictionary.

Externallinks
CollectionofCockneyslang Anothercollection CockneyAlphabet

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Onlinedictionaryofrhymingslang

Webster'sCockneyRhymingSlangEnglishDictionary Cockneyrhymingslangtranslator

Categories:EnglishlanguageinEngland|Londonwords|Rhymingslang|Rhetoricaltechniques

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