A peculiar kind of slang, known as Cockney rhyming slang, evolved in England. Its distinguishing mark is the use of paired words, or compound phrases, in which the last word rhymes with the word that is actually meant. Thus, for instance, instead of saying "head", a Cockney might say I hit him in his loaf of bread.
To increase the fun and confusion, once the phrase has become common, the first word of the phrase can often be used to suggest the entire phrase, and at a second level of indirection, the original word. Thus, the Cockney's victim might simply be hit "in the loaf". And what was used in the hitting? Why the Cockney's Germans - that is, his German bands - that is, his hands!
With your new found skills, you should be able to decipher much of The Rhyme of the Rusher.
| Short | Long | Rhyme | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| all harbor | all harbor light | all right | |
| almonds | almond rocks | socks | |
| apples | apples and pears | stairs | |
| apples | apples and spice | nice | |
| arras | Aristotle | bottle | |
| "arfer" | Arthur Rank | wank | to masturbate |
| arthur | Arthur Rank | bank | |
| ball | ball of chalk | a walk | |
| barnet | Barnet Fair | hair | |
| barney | Barney Rubble | trouble | |
| berk | Berkeley hunt | a despised person | |
| boracic | boracic lint | skint | broke |
| bottle | bottle and glass | ass | |
| brass | brass nail | tail | |
| Bristols | Bristol Cities | breasts | |
| bullocks | bullock's horn | to pawn | |
| bubble | bubble and squeak | to speak | |
| Burton | Burton on Trent | the rent | |
| butcher | butcher's hook | a look; a crook | |
| captain | Captain Cook; Captain Hook | a look | |
| Chalfonts | Chalfont St Giles | piles | hemorrhoids |
| chalk | chalk farm | arm | |
| cherries | cherry hogs | dogs | the dog-racing tracks |
| cherry | cherry hog | dog | |
| chevy | chevy chase | face | |
| china | china plate | mate | a friend |
| cobblers | cobbler's awls | balls | testicles |
| cow | cow and calf | a half (pound) | 50p, once 10 shillings |
| daily | Daily Mail | tail | |
| daisies | daisy roots | boots | shoes |
| donald | Donald Duck | to fornicate | |
| drain | drain and sink | drink | |
| Dunlop | Dunlop tire | liar | |
| dutch | Duchess of Fife | wife | |
| dutch | dutch plate | mate | buddy |
| Edmund | Edmund Ros | the boss | |
| Edna | Edna May | on your way! | |
| farmers | Farner Giles | piles | hemorrhoids |
| finsbury | Finsbury Park | arc | arc light |
| flounder | flounder and dab | cab | taxicab |
| flowery | flowery dell | cell | |
| elephants | elephant's trunk | drunk | |
| Germans | German bands | hands | |
| ginger | ginger beer | queer | |
| grass | grasshopper | copper | policeman, informer |
| greens | greengages | wages | |
| guy | Guy Fawkes | a walk | |
| gypsy | gypsy's kiss | piss | |
| Hampsteads | Hampstead Heath | teeth | |
| Hampton | Hampton Rock | cock | penis |
| Hampton | Hampton Wick | prick | penis |
| haricot | haricot bean | queen | an effeminate homosexual |
| hit | hit and miss | a kiss | |
| horse | horse and trap | clap | a venereal disease |
| Irish | Irish jig | a wig | |
| iron | iron hoof | poof | a pooftah, a homosexual |
| Jack | Jack and Jill | a pill | |
| jacks | jacks alive | five | |
| J Arthur | J Arthur Rank | wank | masturbate |
| jekylls | Jekylls and Hydes | strides | pants |
| Jimmy | Jimmy Riddle | piddle | urinate |
| Jodrell | Jodrell Bank | to wank | masturbate |
| Jonah | Joan of Arc | a shark | |
| kerried | Kerry Packered | knackered | worn out |
| Kilburn | Kilburn Priory | diary | |
| Kuwaiti | Kuwaiti tanker | wanker | |
| lakes | lakes of Killarney | barmy | crazy |
| lemon | lemon squash | wash | |
| Leroy | Leroy and Frank | to wank | to masturbate |
| loaf | loaf of bread | head | |
| lolly | lollipop | shop | to turn informer |
| minces | mince pies | eyes | |
| mollo | molly the monk | drunk | |
| molly | Molly Malone | phone | |
| mutton | Mutt and Jeff | deaf | |
| nauticals | nautical miles | piles | hemorrhoids |
| oily | oily rag | a fag | a cigarette |
| Oliver | Oliver Twist | a fist; pissed | |
| Oliver | Oliver Reed | speed | amphetamines |
| Pattie | Pattie Hearst | a first (university degree) | |
| Peckham | Peckham rye | a tie | |
| pony | pony and trap | crap | |
| porky | pork pie | lie | |
| potato | potato peeler | Sheila | a girlfriend |
| potter | pot o' glue | Jew | |
| raspberry | raspberry ripple | cripple | |
| raspberry | raspberry tart | a fart; a heart | |
| regs | Reginald Grundies | undies | underwear |
| Richard | Richard the Third | bird | a girlfriend |
| Rosie | Rosie Lee | tea | |
| Ruby | Ruby Murray | curry | |
| salmon | salmon and trout | snout | |
| saucepan | saucepan lid | quid | a pound or a pound note |
| sausage | sausage roll | goal | |
| Scotch | Scotch peg | leg | |
| seppo | septic tank | yank | American |
| shandy | chandelier | queer | |
| sherman | Sherman tank | wank | to masturbate |
| sky | sky rocket | ||
| Susy | Susy Anna | a tanner | a sixpence |
| taters | taters in the mold | cold | |
| titfer | tit for tat | hat | |
| the Toms | the Tom Tits | the shits | |
| tom | tomfoolery | jewelry | |
| tumble | tumble down the sink | drink | |
| turtles | turtledoves | gloves | |
| twist | twist and twirl | girl | |
| West Hams | West Ham Reserves | nerves | |
| whistle | whistle and flute | suit | |
| Zasu | ZaSu Pitts | the shits | |
| Zorba | Zorba the Greek | a leak | to urinate |
| Adam and Eve | believe | ||
| Adrian Quist | pissed | ||
| after darks | sharks | ||
| Al Capone | phone | ||
| Alan Whickers | knickers | ||
| alderman's nail | tail | ||
| Andy Cain | rain | ||
| Anna Maria | fire | ||
| apple and banana | piano | ||
| apple fritter | bitter | beer | |
| April fools | football pools, stools, tools | ||
| April showers | flowers | ||
| army and navy | gravy | ||
| artful dodger | lodger | ||
| Auntie Ella | umbrella | ||
| Auntie Nellie | belly | ||
| babbling brook | a cook, a crook | ||
| baby pap | a cap | ||
| bacon and eggs | legs | ||
| bag of fruit | a suit | ||
| the baked bean | the Queen | ||
| baker's dozen | cousin | ||
| band in the box | the pox | a venereal disease | |
| bar of soap | dope | ||
| Barnaby Rudge | a judge | ||
| bat and wicket | ticket | ||
| bath bun | sun | ||
| battle and cruiser | boozer | a pub | |
| bear's paw | a saw | ||
| Beecham's pill | a bill, a still (photo) | ||
| Beecham's pills | the testicles | ||
| bees and honey | money | ||
| beggar my neighbor | on the Labor | the unemployment office | |
| bell ringers | fingers | ||
| ben flake | steak | ||
| bended knees | cheese | ||
| big bloke | coke | cocaine | |
| big hit | excrement | ||
| Billy Bunter | a punter | an average Joe | |
| Billy Button | mutton | ||
| billy lids | kids | ||
| billygoat | tote | ||
| bird lime | time | ||
| bit o' tripe | a wife | ||
| black and white | night | ||
| bladder of lard | a playing card | ||
| blood and blister | sister | ||
| Bo-Peep | asleep | ||
| boat race | face | ||
| Bob Hope | dope; soap | ||
| bonny fair | hair | ||
| bopeep | sleep | ||
| bottle of sauce | horse | ||
| bottle of water | daughter | ||
| bottles of booze | shoes | ||
| bow and arrow | a sparrow | ||
| bowl of chalk | talk | ||
| brace and bits | breasts | ||
| brass tacks | facts | ||
| bread and butter | gutter | ||
| bread and cheese | sneeze | ||
| bread and lard | hard | ||
| Brian O'Lynn | gin | ||
| brothers and sisters | whiskers | ||
| brown bread | dead | ||
| Brussels sprouts | scouts | ||
| bubble and squeak | a Greek | ||
| bucket and pail | jail | ||
| Bugs Bunny | money | ||
| bull and cow | row | a fight | |
| bull's aunts | pants | ||
| bully beef | the chief | ||
| burnt cinder | window | ||
| bushel and peck | neck | ||
| bushel of coke | bloke | ||
| Bushey Park | a lark | fun, a whim | |
| butcher's hook | a look | ||
| by the peck | the neck | ||
| Cain and Abel | a table | ||
| calico yard | a guard | ||
| Cape of Good Hope | soap | ||
| Carl Rosa | a poser | ||
| car park | a nark | an informer | |
| carving knife | a wife | ||
| cat and mouse | a house | ||
| cats and kitties | breasts | ||
| chair and cross | a horse | ||
| Charing Cross | a horse | ||
| Charlie Beck | check | ||
| Charlie Chalk | talk | ||
| Charlie Horner | corner | ||
| Charlie Prescott | a "wescot" | a waistcoat | |
| Charlie Lancaster | a "handkercher" | handkerchief | |
| Charlie Rocks | socks | ||
| Charlie Ronce | a ponce | ||
| charming wife | a knife | ||
| Chatham and Dover | over | ||
| cheese and kisses | the missus | the wife | |
| cherry ripe | a pipe | ||
| chicken neck | a check | ||
| coat and badge | to cadge | ||
| cock linnet | a minute | ||
| cock sparrow | barrow | ||
| cocked hat | a rat | an informer | |
| cod's roe | dough | money | |
| comic cuts | guts | ||
| con and coal | the dole | ||
| Conan Doyle | a boil | ||
| council houses | trousers | ||
| country cousin | a dozen | ||
| Covent Garden | a "farden" | a farthing | |
| cows and kisses | the Missus | ||
| cream crackered | knackered | exhausted | |
| crust of bread | the head | ||
| cuddle and kiss | a miss | a girl | |
| currant bun | the sun | ||
| custard and jelly | the telly | ||
| cut and carried | married | ||
| cuts and scratches | matches | ||
| dad and dave | a shave | ||
| daffadown dilly | silly | ||
| Danny Rucker | butter | ||
| Dan O'Leary | weary | ||
| deep sea diver | a fiver | ||
| Derby kelly | belly | ||
| dickory dock | clock; cock | ||
| dicky bird | word | ||
| dicky dirt | shirt | ||
| didn't ought | port | wine | |
| dig and dirt | shirt | ||
| dig in the grave | shave | ||
| dime and pop | a cop | ||
| do as you like | a bike | ||
| dog and bone | telephone | ||
| dog and boned | stoned | ||
| dog's eye | pie | ||
| Dolly Varden | a garden | ||
| don't make a fuss | bus | ||
| duck and geese | police | ||
| Duke of Kent | rent | ||
| Duke of York | fork | ||
| dustbin lids | kids | ||
| early bird | word | ||
| earwig | to twig | to understand | |
| east and west | a vest | ||
| eighty six | nix | nothing | |
| elephant and castle | asshole | ||
| Emma Freuds | hemorrhoids | ||
| engineers and stokers | brokers | ||
| Epsom race | face | ||
| Errol Flynn | chin | ||
| eau de cologne | phone | ||
| Everton toffee | coffee | ||
| far and near | beer | ||
| feather and flip | kip | to sleep | |
| fiddle and flute | suit | ||
| fiddly did | a quid | a pound | |
| field of wheat | street | ||
| fife and drum | bum | ||
| fifteen and seven | heaven | ||
| fig and post | toast | ||
| fillet of cod | sod | that is, a sodomite | |
| fine and dandy | brandy | ||
| fisherman's daughter | water | ||
| five to two | a Jew | ||
| flash of light | a sight | ||
| fleas and ants | pants | ||
| fleas and itchers | pitchers | the cinema | |
| fly my kite | a light | ||
| fork and knife | wife | ||
| fourth of July | a tie | ||
| France and Spain | rain | ||
| frog a log | dog | ||
| frog and toad | road | ||
| garden gate | magistrate | ||
| garlic and glue | stew | ||
| gay and frisky | whiskey | ||
| Germaine Greer | ear | ||
| ginger ale | jail | ||
| ginger beer | ear | ||
| Ginger Meggs | legs | ||
| gingerbread | head | ||
| God forbids | kids | ||
| gold watch | scotch | whiskey | |
| goose's neck | a check | ||
| Gregory Peck | the neck | ||
| grocery store | door | ||
| Grosvenor Squares | flares | flared pants | |
| grumble and grunt | the vagina | ||
| Gunga Din | the chin | ||
| hair and brain | chain | ||
| hairy float | coat | ||
| half a tree | crazy | ||
| half inch | pinch | to steal | |
| half ounce | to bounce | ||
| ha'penny dip | a ship | ||
| ham and beef | the chief | ||
| ham and eggs | legs | ||
| hammer and tack | back | ||
| hang bluff | snuff | ||
| harbor light | all right | ||
| hard and flat | hat | ||
| hare and hound | round | ||
| Harry Randall | a candle | ||
| Harry Tate | late; a plate | ||
| Harry Wragg | a fag | a cigarette | |
| Harvey Nichol | pickle | a predicament | |
| heart and lung | tongue | ||
| heart of oak | broke | ||
| heaven's above | love | ||
| heavenly bliss | kiss | ||
| here and there | a chair | ||
| hey diddle diddle | a fiddle; to piddle | ||
| hickory dock | a clock | ||
| high as a kite | tight | drunk | |
| hit and miss | to piss | ||
| hit and missed | pissed | drunk | |
| holy friar | a liar | ||
| hook of mutton | a button | ||
| hop o' my thumb | a chum | ||
| horse and cart | fart | ||
| hot cross bun | in the sun | ||
| hot "potater" | a waiter | ||
| how d'ye do | a shoe | ||
| hurricane lamp | a tramp | ||
| I declare | a chair | ||
| I suppose | a nose | ||
| ice cream freezer | geezer | ||
| I'm afloat | a coat | ||
| in and out | stout | ||
| in the sleet | in the street | ||
| Irish stew | true | ||
| iron tank | a bank | ||
| Isle of Wight | all right | ||
| ivory float | coat | ||
| Jack Dandy | brandy | ||
| Jack Jones | alone | ||
| Jack O'Brien | train | ||
| Jack Scratch | match | ||
| Jack the Ripper | a kipper | ||
| jackdaw | jaw | ||
| jam jar | motor car | ||
| jam roll | parole | ||
| jam tart | sweetheart | ||
| Jenny Linder | a "winder" | a window | |
| Jerry McGinn | chin | ||
| Jimmy Brits | the shits | ||
| Jimmy Dancer | cancer | ||
| Jimmy Hicks | a six | ||
| Jimmy Hope | soap | ||
| Jimmy Skinner | dinner | ||
| joanna | piano | ||
| Joe Blake | cake | ||
| Joe Blakes | snakes | the DT's | |
| Joe Bonce | a ponce | a pimp | |
| Joe Gurr | stir | porridge | |
| John Bull | full | drunk | |
| John Dory | story | ||
| John Hop | a cop | ||
| John Hopper | a copper | ||
| Johnny Bliss | a piss | ||
| Johnny Horner | a corner | ||
| Johnny O'Brien | iron | ||
| Johnny Rump | pump | ||
| Johnny Russell | hustle | ||
| jollop | stop | ||
| just as I feared | a beard | ||
| kangaroo | a Jew | ||
| Kate and Sydney | stake and kidney | ||
| Kate Karney | the army | ||
| Kelly Ned | head | ||
| Kennedy rot | sot | ||
| Kentucky horn | corn | ||
| Khyber Pass | arse | ass | |
| King Dick | thick | stupid | |
| kiss the cross | the boss | ||
| kitchen range | change | ||
| Kuwaiti tanker | wanker | ||
| lard and pail | jail | ||
| lath and plaster | master | ||
| lean and fat | a hat | ||
| lean and lurch | church | ||
| leg rope | hope | ||
| lemon squeezer | a geezer | a man | |
| light of love | guv | the governor of a prison | |
| linen draper | newspaper | ||
| lion's lair | chair | ||
| Lionel Blair | a chair | ||
| Lionel Rose | nose | ||
| live eel | a field | ||
| loop the loop | soup | ||
| Lord Lovel | a shovel | ||
| Lord Mayor | to swear | ||
| lord of the manor | tanner | a sixpence | |
| lost and found | a pound | ||
| Lucy Locket | |||
| lump of lead | a head | ||
| macaroni | a pony | ||
| made mile | smile | ||
| Maidstone jailer | a tailor | ||
| mallee root | prostitute | ||
| Mary Ann | hand | ||
| merchant banker | wanker | ||
| Mickey Mouse | grouse | ||
| moan and wail | jail | ||
| monkey's tail | a nail | ||
| moriarty | a party | ||
| mother and daughter | water | ||
| moulin rouge | a stooge | ||
| mountain passes | glasses | ||
| Mozart and Liszt | pissed | drunk | |
| mumbley pegs | legs | ||
| mystery bags | snags | sausages | |
| Nancy prance | dance | ||
| nanny goat | a coat; a boat; a tote | ||
| Ned Kelly | belly | ||
| needle and pin | gin | ||
| needle and thread | head | ||
| Nelly Bligh | fly; eye | ||
| new south | mouth | ||
| New York City | titty | ||
| Newgate Gaol | a tale | ||
| Niagara Falls | balls | ||
| Noah's ark | a park; a nark; a shark | ||
| north and south | mouth | ||
| North Pole | arsehole | ||
| now is the hour | a shower | ||
| Nuremburg Trials | piles | hemorrhoids | |
| oats and chaff | footpath | ||
| ocean wave | shave | ||
| octopus | bus | ||
| oh heck | neck | ||
| oh my dear | beer | ||
| once a week | cheek | ||
| on the floor | poor | ||
| ones and twos | shoes | ||
| optic nerve | perve | a pervert | |
| orchestra stalls | balls | testicles | |
| Oscar Hocks | socks | ||
| Oscar Joes | toes | ||
| Oxford scholar | dollar | ||
| pair of races | braces | ||
| paraffin lamp | a tramp | ||
| Pat Malone | alone | ||
| peaches and pears | stairs | ||
| peas in the pot | hot | ||
| pen and ink | stink | ||
| penny stamp | a tramp | ||
| photo finish | (a pint of) Guinness | ||
| Piccadilly | chilly | ||
| pie and liquor | vicar | ||
| pig's ear | beer | ||
| pimple and blotch | Scotch | ||
| pint pot | sot | a drunkard | |
| plates and dishes | the missus | ||
| plates of meat | feet | ||
| pot and pan | old man | ||
| pot of jelly | belly | ||
| potatoes in the mold | cold | ||
| quarter pot | sot | ||
| Queen's Park Rangers | strangers | ||
| rabbit hutch | crotch | ||
| rabbit's paw | jaw | ||
| Ramsgate Sands | hands | ||
| rattle and jar | car | ||
| raw and ripe | pipe | ||
| read and write | fight | ||
| red steer | beer | ||
| rhubarb pill | a bill | ||
| ribbon and curl | a curl | ||
| Richard Mary | a fairy | a homosexual | |
| ride plush | to hush | ||
| rifle range | change | ||
| rip and tear | swear | ||
| rise and shine | wine | ||
| roach and dace | face | ||
| roasty roast | (winning) post | ||
| rob my pal | gal | ||
| rock of ages | wages | ||
| rocks and boulders | shoulders | ||
| rogue and villain | a shilling | ||
| rolley roar | floor | ||
| roses red | bed | ||
| rub-a-dub | a pub; a tub | ||
| rumble and shock | knock (on the door) | ||
| Rory o' More | floor, door | ||
| rosebuds | spuds | potatoes | |
| Rotten Row | a bow | ||
| round me houses | trousers | ||
| Saint Louis blues | shoes | ||
| Saint Martin's le Grand | a hand | ||
| Sandy McNab | a cab | ||
| satin and silk | milk | ||
| sausage and mash | cash | ||
| Scapa Flow | to go | ||
| scarlet pips | lips | ||
| scream and holler | dollar | ||
| see the shine | give a dime | ||
| Sexton Blake | cake, fake | ||
| sheery flips | lips | ||
| shillings and pence | sense | ||
| ship in full sail | ale | ||
| shovel and broom | room | ||
| shovel and spade | blade | ||
| sighs and tears | ears | ||
| silk and top | cop | ||
| silk and twine | wine | ||
| Simple Simon | diamond | ||
| Sir Walter Scott | a pot | ||
| skin and blister | sister | ||
| slick and sleeth | teeth | ||
| slip in the gutter | butter | ||
| smack in the eye | pie | ||
| smear and smudge | judge | ||
| smoked haddock | paddock | ||
| snake in the grass | looking glass | ||
| soldiers bold | cold | ||
| sorry and sad | dad | ||
| south of the equator | elevator | ||
| spinning top | cop | ||
| split pea | tea | ||
| stage fright | light | light ale | |
| stammer and stutter | butter | ||
| stand an ale | go bail (for) | ||
| stand at ease | cheese | ||
| stand at attention | pension | ||
| steak and kidney | Sydney | ||
| steam packet | a jacket | ||
| storm and strife | wife | ||
| strong and thin | gin | ||
| stump the chalk | walk | ||
| swear and cuss | bus | ||
| sweet Margaret | cigarette | ||
| switch and bone | telephone|||
| syrup of fig | wig | ||
| tar and feather | weather | ||
| tarry rope | dope | ||
| taxi cabs | crabs | ||
| tea and tattle | battle | ||
| tea leaf | thief | ||
| tears and cheers | ears | ||
| Ted Frazer | razor | ||
| there you are | a bar | ||
| thick and dense | expense | ||
| thief and robber | cobber | friend | |
| this and that | hat | ||
| three or four | door | ||
| three penny bits | the shits | ||
| three quarters of a peck | the neck | ||
| throw me the dirt | a shirt | ||
| tick tack | track | ||
| tiddler's bait | late | ||
| tin tack | the sack | dismissal | |
| ting-a-ling | a ring | ||
| tip and tap | a cap | ||
| toad in the hole | a roll (of currency) | ||
| Tod Sloan | alone | ||
| Tom and Dick | sick | ||
| Tom Mix | fix | a predicament | |
| Tom Noddy | body | ||
| Tom Right | night | ||
| Tom Thumb | rum | ||
| tomfoolery | jewelry | ||
| Tommy Rocks | socks | ||
| Tommy Toy | boy | ||
| Tommy Tucker | supper | ||
| Tony Blairs | flares | flared pants | |
| top j'int | a pint | ||
| top of Rome | home | ||
| total wreck | check | ||
| train wreck | neck | ||
| trams and trains | brains | ||
| trouble and fuss | a bus | ||
| tumble down the sink | a drink | ||
| turtle dove | a glove | ||
| two and eight | a state | a panic | |
| typewriter | fighter | ||
| umble cum stumble | to rumble | to understand | |
| uncle Bert | shirt | ||
| uncle Dick | sick | ||
| uncle Fred | bread | ||
| uncle Mack | smack | heroin | |
| uncle Ned | head; bed | ||
| uncles and aunts | pants | ||
| unders and beneaths | teeth | ||
| up and down | brown | ||
| up and under | to chunder | vomit | |
| Vera Lynn | gin | ||
| very best | chest | ||
| Vincent Price | ice | ||
| Warwick farm | arm | ||
| weasel and stoat | a coat | ||
| weeping willow | a pillow | ||
| whale and gale | jail | ||
| whistle and toot | loot | ||
| widow's wink | a Chinese person | ||
| Williamstown pier | ear | ||
| wish me luck | to duck | ||
| wooly woofter | poofter | ||
| you and me | tea | ||
| you know | snow | cocaine | |
| young and old | cold |
Thanks to Alan Mellors of the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, for telling me about the more common meaning of Arthur Rank.
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