cockney rhyming slang

The origins of cockney rhyming slang are uncertain. It's not really a language since the words spoken are clearly English; conversely, it's not a dialect either, since the speakers of this slang are also perfectly capable of not using it! Some stories go that cockney rhyming slang originated in the market place so that the vendor's could communicate without the customers knowing what was being said. Other stories suggest that it originated in the prisons so that inmates could talk without the guards listening in. There is a theory that cockney rhyming slang came about shortly after Sir Robert Peel introduced and implemented his idea for a Police force. The criminal fraternity had never been faced with such a concerted effort to thwart them, so they developed cockney rhyming slang, to counter the threat to their plans.

Basically, with cockney rhyming slang, you take a pair of associated words, where the second word rhymes with the word you intend to say, then use the first word of the associated pair to indicate the word you originally intended to say. Some cockney rhyming slang words have more than one meaning, so context is vital. Some examples of the colourful language of cockney rhyming slang are: ‘daisy roots’ for boots; ‘jockey's whips’ for chips; ‘Alf Garnet’ for Barnet - as in hair; ‘jam jar’ for car; ‘Tony Blair’ for chair; ‘rifle range’ for change; ‘Scooby Doo’ for clue; ‘Adam and Eve’ for believe; ‘apples and pears’ for stairs; ‘dog and bone’ for phone; and ‘Anneka Rice’ for advice. In cockney rhyming slang if you went to the pub without anybody else you’d be on your ‘Jack Jones’ as in alone; once there you’ll probably have a few ‘Britney Spears’ - beers, possibly a pint or two of ‘laugh and titter’ - bitter. If you were alone you could maybe occupy yourself by looking at the barmaid’s ‘Georgie Best’s’ - I’ll leave it to you to work it out!