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The meaning and origin of the expression: Cockney Rhyming Slang

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Cockney Rhyming Slang




Rhyming slang has the effect of obscuring the meaning of what is said from outsiders. It isn't clear whether this is intentional, to hide one's meaning from the law, or to exclude outsiders, or whether it is just a form of group bonding. The way rhyming slang works does tend to exclude those not 'in the know', as the substitution of one word for another often relies on reference to a key phrase, which, for the slang to be understood, must be known jointly by those communicating; for example, to get from 'Hamsteads' to 'teeth', one must be aware of Hampstead Heath.

There's no reason to suppose that there was any great conspiracy in the formation of rhyming slang. English speakers, in common with speakers of other languages, enjoy rhyming. Evidence of this are the numerous double-word forms (reduplications), created from nonsense words and coined for no better reason than for the hell of it; for example, 'hoity-toity', higgledy-piggledy', 'namby-pamby', 'nitty-gritty', 'itsy-bitsy', etc, etc.

Rhyming slang is an exuberant linguistic form and tends to flourish in confident, outgoing communities. That's certainly true of Victorian England, which is where it originated. The earliest example of rhyming slang that we can find is in the English writer Edward Jerringham Wakefield's, Adventures in New Zealand, 1845, in which he includes an account of the journey from the UK to the Southern Hemisphere:

"The profound contempt which the whaler expresses for the 'lubber of a jimmy-grant', as he calls the emigrant."

Who Jimmy Grant was isn't clear.

The first to record rhyming slang in any systematic way were Ducange Anglicus, in The Vulgar Tongue. A Glossary of Slang, Cant, and Flash Phrases, used in London from 1839 to 1859 and John Camden Hotten, in A Dictionary of Modern Slang, Cant and Vulgar Words, 1859:

Anglicus includes these examples, all dated 1857:

Apple and Pears, stairs.
Barnet-Fair, hair.
Bird-lime, time.
Lath-and-plaster, master.
Oats and chaff, footpath.

Hotten's book includes:

Bull and cow, a row.
Chevy Chase, the face.

There may have been many examples for dictionary makers to record by the 1850s but, like most slang, these were street level terms and not in general usage. Charles Dickens wrote an article on slang in 'Household Words' in 1853 and made no reference to rhyming slang.

Hotten was the first to apply the name 'rhyming slang' to the form, in his 1859 dictionary:

"The cant, which has nothing to do with that spoken by the costermongers, is known in Seven Dials and elsewhere as the Rhyming Slang, or the substitution of words and sentences which rhyme with other words intended to be kept secret. I learn that the rhyming slang was introduced about twelve or fifteen years ago."

The slang form wasn't known in the USA until late in the 19th century. Here's an item from the Lima Times Democrat, Sept 1894, which is the earliest reference I can find from America. It's in an editorial piece titled 'The Slang of London', which describes rhyming slang at length and is clearly intended for an audience who are new to it:

"Rhyming slang is peculiar to England and, I believe, to London."

st mary le bowSo far, we haven't mentioned 'Cockney', nor you might notice do any of the early citations above. That's because, although rhyming slang was associated with London, and particularly with London street traders, there never has been anything specifically Cockney about it. Rhyming slang didn't become Cockney Rhyming Slang until long after many of its examples had travelled world-wide. Cockney, according to the strict definition, refers to those born within the sound of Bow Bells. Cockney Rhyming Slang is just shorthand for London or English rhyming slang. As a name, 'Cockney Rhyming Slang' is 20th century, as are the majority of examples of CRS terms.

Just as an aside, here's some alternative versions of the supposed derivation of the name Cockney, as given in the 1811 'Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue', Author: Captain Grose et al. Believe of much of this as you see fit:





Was I in my castle at Bungay,
Fast by the river Waveney,
I would not care for the king of Cockney;

that is, the king of London.

Rhyming slang has spread to many English-speaking countries, especially those that had strong maritime links with the UK in the 19th century, notably Australia, Ireland and Canada/USA. There's even less justification for the name these days than there was when it was coined. Many examples of CRS clearly originate in other countries, although England, and specifically London, is still the major source. The spread can be shown by phrases that relate to people or places only well-known in a particular country, or ones where the rhyme depends on a regional or national accent; for example:


Reg Grundies = Undies (Grundy is an Australian businessman)
Steak and kidney = Sydney


Flowers and frolics = bollocks (nonsense) or, with an Irish accent, bollicks.


Corned (beef) = deaf or, in Scotland, deif.


Eighty-six = nothing (nix).

Lest we forget London, there are several examples that rely on vowel pronunciation or place names of south-east England. E.g.:

Khyber pass = arse (elsewhere in England this would rhyme with ass)
Hamsteads = Hampstead Heath = teeth
Hampton = Hampton Wick = dick/prick

Rhyming slang is highly volatile; terms emerge quickly and many don't catch on. That's especially true recently with the rise of media/celebrity culture and the Internet. There are many lists of CRS terms. Here's a short list of those that are fairly well-established and likely to remain in the language.

Many of the early rhymes listed in Hotten and Anglicus have now gone out of use; for example, 'Billy Button - mutton' and Mailstone jailor - tailor'. Those early examples that are still known are indicated below.

Apples and pears   Stairs In use by 1857.
Ayrton Ayrton Senna Tenner (10 pound note)  
Barnet Barnet Fair Hair In use by 1857.
Berk Berkeley Hunt Cunt In use by 1937. Also the origin or 'berk'.
Boat Boat Race Face  
Borassic Borassic lint Skint  
Brahms Brahms and Liszt Pissed (drunk)  
Bread Bread and Honey Money  
Bristols Bristol Cities Titties (breasts)  
Brown Bread   Dead  
Bull and Cow   Row (argument) In use by 1859 (Hotten).
(Have a) butcher's Butcher's Hook Look  
(My old) China China Plate Mate  
Cobbler's Cobbler's Awls Balls (testicles)  
Crackered (or creamed) Cream Crackered Knackered (tired)  
Crust Crust of Bread Head  
Current Bun   Sun (newspaper)  
Daisy roots   Boots In use by 1859. Hotten explains this as a shortened form of 'Daisy recruits'.
Desmond Desmond Tutu 2:2 (lower second class degree)  
Dog and Bone   Phone  
Donkey's Donkey's Ears Years  
Elephant's Elephant's Trunk Drunk In use by 1859 (Hotten).
Frog and toad   Road In use by 1859 (Hotten).
Ginger Ginger Beer Queer  
Gregory Gregory Peck Neck  
Hampsteads Hampstead Heath Teeth Hotten records this as Hounslow Heath, but that's no longer used.
Hampton Hampton Wick Prick/dick (penis) Also used, although less often than hampton, as 'wick'. The source of the phrase 'you get on my wick'.
J. Arthur J. Arthur Rank Wank (masturbate)  
On your Jack (Jones) Jack Jones Alone  
Khyber Khyber Pass Arse  
Lardy La-di-da Cigar  
Loaf Loaf of Bread Head  
Mincies Mince pies Eyes In use by 1859 (Hotten).
Mutton Mutt and Jeff Deaf  
North and South   Mouth  
Orson Horse 'n cart Fart  
Oxford Scholar   Dollar  
On your Pat Pat Malone Alone  
Pen and Ink   Stink In use by 1859 (Hotten).
It's all gone Pete Tong   Gone wrong  
Plates Plates of Meat Feet  
Taters Potatoes in the mould Cold  
Rabbit Rabbit and Pork Talk  
Raspberry Raspberry Tart Fart  
Richard Richard the Third Turd (shit)  
Rosie Rosie Lee Tea Hotten records this as 'River Lea'.
Ruby Ruby Murray Curry  
Scarper Scapa Flow Go  
Sexton Sexton Blake Fake  
Syrup Syrup of Figs Wig  
Tea Leaf   Thief  
Titfer Tit for tat Hat  
On your tod Tod Sloan Alone  
Trouble and Strife   Wife  
Weasel Weasel and Stoat Coat