London Cockney Slang

A vivacious Lingo

Cockney Slang and Cockney Rhyming Slang alike obey to the guidelines of the unique wit and elegance of the British language and communication mentality.

Linguistically defined, when one refers to Cockney English, they allude to the accent and the dialect of English. As it will become clarified further on, Cockney English is not a sociolinguistic notion that could be concretely defined and described.

Rather, what is going to be attempted is a delineation of its main characteristics and an able introduction to this alluring lingo that was born within the sound of the bells of the Church of St. Mary-le-Bow in the city of London, and exists (with variation) to this day. Yet, researches point out that the Cockney rhyming slang might be on its wane these days, as it no longer serves its original purpose, that of a secret code lingo of a closed and marginalized community of  London.

According to popular wisdom, any citizen born within earshot of the Bow Bells is a “true” Londoner, and can claim to be “Cockney”.

Let us dedicate a few lines to the Bow Bells as this church, and, more specifically, the percussion of its bells holds a vital role to the determination of our discussion: Bow Bells are the Bells of the church of St. Mary-le-Bow, in Cheapside, London. To be born within the sound of Bow Bells is the traditional definition of a Cockney. Yet, by extension, as things cannot be strictly divided, to some ears this stretches to anyone who comes from the South East of England.

The Church was founded in or around 1080 as the London headquarters of the archbishops of Canterbury, the medieval church of St Mary-le Bow, and it survived three devastating collapses before being completely destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666. Later on, it was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren, only to be wrecked again in 1941, and the re-constructed and re-consecrated in 1964.

The medieval church occupies a central position in the City of London and the district that the bells are synonymous with “within the City boundary”. The church bells are certainly ancient- there exist written records of them to ring each evening at 9 pm, which date back to 1469. In an awkward manner, based on the fact that one is born a cockney when born within the hearing range of the Bow Bells steeple, there were no Cockneys born between 11^th May 1941 and 21^st December 1961, as the renown bells were destroyed during a World War II German air raid, to be heard after twenty years of restoration work.

Street in London East End, 1912

The East End in the afternoon

London’s East End historically has been one of the poorest areas in London, but it is also the hub of the whole city’s profits and industrial activity.

Despite its hard past, East Enders are proud of their heritage and history, much of which still survives despite the major changes over the years. Traditionally, London’s East End is a district of close communities, a theory that rationalizes the development of the characteristic slanguage known as Cockney dialect. This sense of community reflects the melting pot of nationalities and cultures that constitute the capital city of England.  The East End sits outside the traditional Roman boundaries of the City of London. The district was initially composed of small villages and hamlets around a Roman road leading from London to Colchester; this was an area of greenery and open space as opposed to the crammed streets of the city.

Originally, the East End was rich in royal grounds, palaces and small port settlements, but as London developed it became more industrialized and the East End transformed into a hub of small manufacturers, the home of various trades and the docklands centre of the region. Its early industries were a mixture of the unpleasant, the malodorous and the dangerous. In simple terms, the area was used for production of noxious products and, consequently, there was a need for much manufacturing space. Hence, its position outside of the city entailed that the fumes wouldn’t affect the wealthy that used to inhabit the city centre, and any issues with dangerous trades wouldn’t impact the city.

Early industry included tanning, rope manufacturing, lead making, slaughter houses, fish farms, breweries, bone processing, tallow works and gunpowder production. All the above were pivotal trades to the success of London but removing them to the outskirts involved that the “great and good” didn’t have to be exposed to the unpleasant substances and odors or to be exposed to any of the various hazards of this primitive form of industry.

The East End has always attracted refugees and immigrants, many of whom set foot in Britain for the first time in the local docks. Later on, the Victorian industrialization didn’t contribute significantly to the amelioration and the upgrade of the area which developed a reputation for abject poverty, gang violence and delinquency. By the end of the 19^th century, the area accepted an influx of Eastern European Jews and radicals.

It took until the end of the Second World War to completely eradicate the slum housing and improve living conditions in the East End area. A large part of the region was destroyed by German bombing raids. The East End’s concentration of vital manufacturing industries and its docks rendered it one of London’s biggest targets during the War.

Post-War conditions may have been more humane, yet the area assumed new notoriety in crime terms during the rule of the Kray twins. The “Krays” gangsters ruled the East End in the 1960s.

Many of the traditional industries of the East-End died out over time but the area re-invented itself once again as a hub of London in the 1980s. Although the area still retains its origins, it is now also the financial centre of London.

The emergence of the Cockney Rhyming Slang

The Cockney dialect is held to be colorful and it retains a charm associated with it that is perhaps absent in the more formal language or else termed, the Estuary English.

Cockney is musical and it creates a funny effect when employed. It has migrated across London in other countries and is now encountered throughout the country and around the world. Despite the afore mentioned, Cockney dialect was thought to belong to the lower classes with many members of the society turning their noses up when hearing it. In fact, in 1909, the London County Council ostracized it on the premise that it was unpleasant and that it is a modern corruption lacking any legitimate credentials, and, overall, unworthy of being the speech of any denizen of the capital city of the Empire. Others at the time, defended Cockney way of communication with its turn of phrases and rhyming slang, and they even pursued to legitimize it. Over the years, though, the dialect became more acceptable to the average British ear legitimizing itself as it stood the test of the time.

Its origins and its onset cannot be clearly specified but there exist various explanations on its birth.  As a general tenet, rhyming slang is believed to have originated in the mid-19^th century in the East End, and it was witnessed among the predominantly Cockney population of the East End, who are renowned for having a characteristic accent and speech patterns.  One speculation states that it began in the 1840s and that it was employed by costermongers and salesmen as a form of patter, a community code. It is possible that it was used in the marketplace to allow vendors to communicate so as to facilitate collusion, leaving customers ignorant. Others assume that it was a secret language used by criminals and people on the margins of the Law (thieves’ cant), as a lingo to confound the authorities and the outsiders. In either case, one who isn’t taught the slang feels like being exposed to a completely foreign language, as it’s impossible to decipher.

Whether the rhyming slang was a linguistic accident, a game or a cryptolect is, and probably will remain subject to conjure.

The premise of Cockney rhyming slang is that it switches a word or a phrase with another that rhymes with the original.

As such, stairs is encoded in the phrase apple and pairs, phone became dog and bone, wife is trouble and strife, hair is Barnet Fair.

Some chunks of the slang date back for centuries but the language is still evolving.

So let us have a butcher’s hook (i.e. a look) in how the rhyming slang really works:

Top Cockney Rhyming Slang Words and Phrases

1.     Adam and Eve : believe

2.     Alan Whickers: knickers

3.     Apples and pears: stairs

4.     Artful Dodger :lodger

5.     Ascot Races: braces

6.     Aunt Joanna: piano

7.     Baked bean: queen

8.     Baker’s Dozen: cousin

9.     Ball and Chalk: walk

10.                        Barnaby Rudge: judge

11.                        Barnet fair: hair

12.                        Barney Rubble: trouble

13.                        Battle cruiser: boozer

14.                        Bees and honey :money

15.                        Bird lime: time (in prison)

16.                        Boat race: face

17.                        Bob hope: soap

18.                        Bottle and glass: arse (apologies!)

19.                        Brahms and Liszt: pissed (drunk)

20.                        Brass tacks: facts

21.                        Bread and cheese: sneeze

22.                        Bread and honey: money

23.                        Bricks and mortar: daughter

24.                        Bristol city : breasts

25.                        Brown bread: dead

26.                        Bubble and squeak: Greek

27.                        Bubble bath: laugh

28.                        Butcher’s hook: a look

29.                        Chalfont St Giles : piles

30.                        Chalk farm: arm

31.                        China plate: mate

32.                        Cock and hen: pen

33.                        Cows and kisses: missus (wife)

34.                        Currant bun: sun

35.                        Custard and jelly: telly (television)

36.                        Daisy roots: boots

37.                        Darby and Joan: moan

38.                        Dicky bird: word

39.                        Dicky dirt: shirt

40.                        Dicky doos: shoes

41.                        Dog and Bone: phone

42.                        Dog’s meat: feet

43.                        Duck and dive: skive

44.                        Duke of Kent: rent

45.                        Dustbin lid: kid

46.                        Elephant’s trunk: drunk

47.                        Fireman’s hose: nose

48.                        Flowery dell: cell

49.                        Frog and toad: road

50.                        Gypsy’s kiss: piss

51.                        Half-inch: pinch (to steal)

52.                        Hampton wick: prick

53.                        Hank Marvin: starving

54.                        Irish pig: wig

55.                        Isle of Wight : tights

56.                        Jam-jar: car

57.                        Jimmy Riddle: piddle

58.                        Joanna: piano (pianna in Cockney)

59.                        Khyber Pass: ass

60.                        Kick and Prance: dance

61.                        Lady Godiva: fiver

62.                        Laugh in a joke: smoke

63.                        Lionel blairs: flairs

64.                        Loaf of bread: head

65.                        Loop the loop: soup

66.                        Mickey bliss: piss

67.                        Mince pies: eyes

68.                        Mork and Mindy : windy

69.                        North and South : mouth

70.                        Orchestra stalls : balls

71.                         Pat and Mick: sick

72.                        Peckham Rye: tie

73.                        Plates of meat : feet

74.                        Pony and Trap: crap

75.                        Raspberry ripple: nipple

76.                        Raspberry tart: fart

77.                        Roast pork: fork

78.                        Rosy Lee: tea

79.                        Round the houses :trousers

80.                        Rub-a-Dub: pub

81.                        Ruby Murray: curry

82.                        Sausage roll: goal

83.                        Septic tank: yank

84.                        Sherbet dab: cab

85.                        Skin and Blister : sister

86.                        Sky rocket: pocket

87.                        Sweeney Todd : flying squad

88.                        Syrup of figs: wig

89.                        Tables and chairs: stairs

90.                        Tea leaf :thief

91.                        Todd Sloane: alone

92.                        Tom and Dick: sick

93.                        Tom Tit: shit

94.                        Tomfoolery: jewellery

95.                        Tommy trinder: window

96.                        Two and eight: state

97.                        Vera Lynn: gin

98.                        Whistle and flute : suit

99.                        Bacon and eggs: legs

100.                   Mother hubbard: cupboard

101.                   Rabbit and Pork: Talk

Intriguingly, the term “Cokenay” was used in Reeve’s Tale, the third story in Geoffrey Chaucer’s the Canterbury Tales (c.1343-1400, Geoffrey Chaucer is a celebrated figure of Medieval Literature and he is the Father of English Literature) as a term to describe a child who was “tenderly brought up and effeminate”:

“And when this jape is told another day

I shall be held a daffe or a cockenay”.

By the end of the 16^th century, the reference was intended as a derogatory term to describe town-dwellers.

The Rhyming Slang in peril of becoming Brown Bread

Heartbreakingly, a twist in the usage, comprehension and popularity of the rhyming slang has been recorded in recent years. According to a linguistic research that was published in The Telegraph, Modern Londoners are just as baffled by Cockney Rhyming Slang as the rest of the country dwellers. The slang is dying out amid London’s diverse, multi-cultural society, according to research that was commissioned by the Museum of London that revealed almost 80% of Londoners do not understand phrases such as “donkey’s ears” slang for years.  In recent years, Londoners are attested to have a grasp of merely a couple of Cockney phrases such a tea leaf (thief) and apples and pears (stairs). Significantly, Londoners’ own knowledge of the jargon is now almost as dad as of those who live outside the capital city. In an attempt  to understand this corruption , we could conclude that the origins of Cockney slang reflects the diverse, immigrant community of London’s East End in the 19^th century so it might not be surprising that other forms of slang are now taking over, as the cultural influences on the city undergo changes. Moreover, David Crystal, honorary Professor of Linguistics at Bangor University said that Cockney Slang was never widely known as it started as a secret way for people to talk to each other. As soon as the slang became known, the Cockneys stopped using it.

Still though, as a spark of hope, it is noticed that there are still several people that are now inventing new rhyming slang. Currently slang such as “he was wearing his Barack Obamas”, meaning “he was wearing his pyjamas” or, “he’s on the Adam mole” standing for “dole” is arising on the fashion of the good old rhyming slang.

As a result, while it might be true that Cockney slang may truly be dying out, it’s worth highlighting the fact that whatever initiated people’s impulse to rhyme words is still with us today.