Timeline for Do Brits understand rhyming slang or are they sometimes puzzled by it too?
Current License: CC BY-SA 2.5
25 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 15, 2020 at 7:40 | history | edited | CommunityBot |
Commonmark migration
|
|
| Apr 13, 2017 at 12:38 | history | edited | CommunityBot |
replaced http://english.stackexchange.com/ with https://english.stackexchange.com/
|
|
| Aug 27, 2014 at 17:51 | comment | added | Dan | As with most dialects, rhyming slang varies from words every child would understand (and may not even know to be slang), to whimsy found only on tourist tea-towels. The examples in this answer are excellent: barnet, boracic, china, cobblers, mickey, scarper and butchers are all everyday words which you would expect someone in the South of England to understand without pause. | |
| Feb 23, 2014 at 3:54 | comment | added | OJFord | Good lord - I had no idea half of those were rhyming slang! | |
| Dec 28, 2013 at 16:06 | comment | added | Mari-Lou A | @Mitch skint means to be penniless, broke, without a farthing. | |
| Dec 28, 2013 at 15:53 | comment | added | Mitch | What is 'skint'? | |
| Jan 18, 2013 at 15:34 | comment | added | Orbling | @JonHanna: Well, my family of old were definitely in the East London, hmm, how should we put it, "not 100% in favour of the police", culture. Not thieves at all, but they knew how to run from Metropolitan to City district or vice versa in a hurry. lol | |
| Jan 18, 2013 at 15:23 | comment | added | Jon Hanna | I suppose it's worth noting also, that since a lot of Cockney slang was originally from thieves' cant, then originally the whole point was that most people wouldn't understand it. (Like Polari, which you mention and which was also from East London, but from a different sub-culture). | |
| Jan 18, 2013 at 15:16 | comment | added | Orbling | @JonHanna: Not restricted to, no. But it does help with those Dubliner phrases, as we are used to the concept, so automatically guess that direction. I've not heard those phrases before, but I know what is meant by them. Although I did need to know about the Luas to get it. ;-) | |
| Jan 18, 2013 at 15:12 | comment | added | Jon Hanna | Rhyming slang isn't restricted to London or even the British. Being born by the sound of Bow bells won't help you understand a Dubliner advising you to "lower your jimmy-joyce" or to "take the daniel-day". | |
| Apr 28, 2012 at 11:45 | comment | added | Brad | Some quite nice modern ones are: Ayrton Senna = Tenner, Pete Tong = Wrong. As in, it's all gone a bit Pete Tong! Or, You owe me an Ayrton, my china! | |
| Apr 2, 2011 at 20:50 | comment | added | Orbling | @mgb: There are always newly coined rhyming slang, some falls under mockney, ie. imitation cockney slang, rather than genuine; some could be considered modern usage. [Slight spelling correction: septic, not sceptic - though I know many yanks who are anti-sceptic!] | |
| Apr 2, 2011 at 18:22 | comment | added | mgb | There are even new ones being coined. Listerine = anti-american. From, Listerine = an anti-sceptic. sceptic-tank = yank. yank = american. | |
| Feb 3, 2011 at 1:34 | comment | added | Orbling | @Robusto: Quite alright, you've given more than enough good answers here to warrant a favour. It's interesting anyhow. | |
| Feb 3, 2011 at 1:27 | history | edited | Orbling | CC BY-SA 2.5 |
added 2 characters in body
|
| Feb 3, 2011 at 1:18 | comment | added | Robusto | @Orbling: You are my hero! Thanks, and I owe you one (or more). I mean I owe you a buttered bun. I mean ... | |
| Feb 3, 2011 at 1:10 | comment | added | Orbling | @Robusto: Right, etymology ahoy! (see above) | |
| Feb 3, 2011 at 1:08 | history | edited | Orbling | CC BY-SA 2.5 |
Added word etymology to accompany question.; added 6 characters in body
|
| Feb 2, 2011 at 15:56 | comment | added | Robusto | @Orbling: I would love it if you would elaborate on the rhyming components for barnet, borasic, etc. | |
| Feb 2, 2011 at 15:53 | vote | accept | Robusto | ||
| Feb 2, 2011 at 9:05 | comment | added | Orbling | @PLL: Cheers. The point is, that you're not supposed to use the rhymes, that annoys me a lot when people do. Only the odd-ended word from the rhyming couplet; the rhyme lies unspoken and so, is forgotten. | |
| Feb 2, 2011 at 5:14 | comment | added | PLL | +1 for the excellent point that while the full rhyming slang isn’t terribly widely known/used, plenty of slang phrases derived from it are. | |
| Feb 2, 2011 at 4:18 | comment | added | Orbling | @gpr: Aye, it travels well, even internationally as I mentioned. Films like Lock, Stock expose it, but they take it way too far. | |
| Feb 2, 2011 at 3:17 | comment | added | gpr | Many people outside London will have heard it through TV shows (The Bill, EastEnders, etc.) even if they don't realise they are listening to rhyming slang. | |
| Feb 2, 2011 at 2:17 | history | answered | Orbling | CC BY-SA 2.5 |