Cockney rhyming slang

[Mehrgan]

Hi there,
I'd like to put this question to the dear English...Is it possible for all the English people to get what these items of slang used in London mean? I mean, to EFL speakers the rhyming slang sounds more like a puzzle or Sth, as you're not sure when they're used...Slang is said to be a part of every day speech and i wonder if the Londoners use it frequently or just when they make some fun of Sth...Plus, what's the dominant accent in London, and how can we get any info about it? (sorry for making it that long! Thanks...) (Btw, can any Londoner kindly give me more clues about it?)

[konungursvia]

They use it all the time: example: take a butcher's [hook].... have a look. My toil and strife... my wife.

[Anglika]

Originally Posted by Mehrgan

Hi there,
I'd like to put this question to the dear English...Is it possible for all the English people to get what these items of slang used in London mean? I mean, to EFL speakers the rhyming slang sounds more like a puzzle or Sth, as you're not sure when they're used...Slang is said to be a part of every day speech and i wonder if the Londoners use it frequently or just when they make some fun of Sth...Plus, what's the dominant accent in London, and how can we get any info about it? (sorry for making it that long! Thanks...) (Btw, can any Londoner kindly give me more clues about it?)

Metropolitan London has an approximate population of 7,200,000 in an area of 174 square miles. There is no single or dominant accent.

Rhyming slang is characteristic of Cockney, which is the dialect spoken by relatively few people, those who are born and raised within the City of London and particularly within the sound of the bells of Bow church. Many of the terms have become accepted outside that district and are used without any sense of ridicule.

[Tdol]

Rhyming slang is used in other regions too- Australia has its own, for instance. Also, much of it was originally meant to be a puzzle so that only insiders would understand.

[abbi46]

cockey rhyming slang is very rarely used today although my mum would probably say well i use it dont i. anyone who uses it around you is teasing you. join in have a go yourself. its fun. tease them back with some of your own slang. the dominant language. there is none. there is urdu chinese polish slovac french german spanish cheq jamaican ethiopian indian afrikaan swedish hungarian scottish irish welsh russian english

[mmasny]

Originally Posted by abbi46

cockey rhyming slang is very rarely used today although my mum would probably say well i use it dont i. anyone who uses it around you is teasing you. join in have a go yourself. its fun. tease them back with some of your own slang. the dominant language. there is none. there is urdu chinese polish slovac french german spanish cheq jamaican ethiopian indian afrikaan swedish hungarian scottish irish welsh russian english

Could you please use capitals, commas, and apostrophes? It's hard to read a longer paragraph without them.

[Mehrgan]

And, how about Estuary English? I hear it's a standard version of Cockney, or the one which is influenced by the upper social class....

Thanks in advance.

[BobK]

'cockey rhyming slang is very rarely used today ' You probably do, without knowing it. I learnt words like 'butchers' and 'berk' and 'use your loaf' long before I had heard of CRS. And many viewers knew - e. g. - that the TV series 'Porridge' would be set in a prison, even without seeing it - 'borage and thyme/time'.

And if you want to know what 'berk' means, this is a family show. (The first word is Berkshire'.)

There are articles about CRS and Estuary English somewhere on this site, but I can't find them for now.

b

[magimagicE]

Originally Posted by BobK

'cockey rhyming slang is very rarely used today ' You probably do, without knowing it. I learnt words like 'butchers' and 'berk' and 'use your loaf' long before I had heard of CRS. And many viewers knew - e. g. - that the TV series 'Porridge' would be set in a prison, even without seeing it - 'borage and thyme/time'.

And if you want to know what 'berk' means, this is a family show. (The first word is Berkshire'.)

There are articles about CRS and Estuary English somewhere on this site, but I can't find them for now.

b

Something to do with hunts, I believe...


Anyway, just to confirm that CRS is still in use in London.

The proper way is not to include the rhyming part of the slang. So, for "boat race" [face], we would just say "boat".

"Why is there lipstick on your boat?"


Borasic is another commonly used term, especially in this current economic climate.

But not so borasic as to turn away a pair of Claires during the big discount sales.

[Raymott]

Originally Posted by Tdol

Rhyming slang is used in other regions too- Australia has its own, for instance. Also, much of it was originally meant to be a puzzle so that only insiders would understand.

Yes, here, 'to have a look' is 'to take a Captain Cook.'
No doubt this slang came out with convicts from the hulks moored in the Thames in east London.
I'm not a big fan, and certainly no exponent!