1. London’s Secret Language— Cockney Rhyming Slang
English Dept. Lillian Lin 林俐蓁

2. What is Cockney Rhyming Slang ?
As I walked up the stairs, I met my ex with his new girlfriend! I couldn’t believe it !! As I walked up the apple (and pears) , I met my ex with his new girlfriend! I couldn’t Adam and Eve it !!

3. English Rhymes with Cockney slang
stairs apple and pears apple believe Adam and Eve Adam and Eve

4. What does “Cockney” Mean ?
Etymology:
Traces back to the 14th century. “cokene-ey,” meaning a “cock’s egg,” a yolkless egg
Change of meaning and form
“cokeney” or “cokenay”, meaning foolish and spoiled child or
a simpleton
appears in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales

5. By the 1520s
Extension of meaning—a derogatory reference to “townsfolk,” the
working class
mostly used by those who live in the countryside
From the 17th century the term was restricted to Londoners, particularly those born within earshot of the famous Bow Bells, i.e. the bells of St Mary- le-Bow in Cheapside in the City of London.
As an adjective, it used to denote London peculiarities of speech.
ex. Cockney accent

6. The Cockneys’ contribution to English—rhyming slang
Originates in the East end of London
Probably around 1840s, popular ever since the mid 19th century
John Camden Hotten
the first one to use the term
1859 Dictionary of Modern Slang, Cant and Vulgar Words which
included a “Glossary of the Rhyming Slang”

7. What is the purpose of using Cockney slangs ?
As a cryptolect
criminals, merchants, or traders
A linguistic accident, a game, a kind of wordplay
Euphemism

8. “rhyming slang has a strong tendency to build on taboo and slang words rather than their standard equivalent. A testimony to this are the series of expressions coined for the strongest taboo words, those ‘four letter words’ so carefully avoided in polite conversation. These rhyming slang phrases are in fact euphemisms and their purpose is precisely to avoid being rude and offensive, but they do tend to aggregate around words which are ‘better left unsaid’”( ).

9. Euphemism in Cockney Rhyming Slang
Raspberry tart = fart
Berkeley Hunt, Anthony Blunt, bargain hunt, Gareth Hunt, grumble and grunt, James Blunt, James Hunt, Oxford punt, struggle and grunt
=a female genital
Albert Halls, Davina McCalls, market stalls, Town Halls, Niagara Falls, orchestra stalls = a male genital

10. Newly coined rhyming slang
I prefer Britney Spears (beers) to Calvin Klein (wine).
I haven't got a Scooby! (clue)
Scooby Doo (the dog from the American animated
cartoon)

11. In Conclusion… The purpose of rhyming slang: euphemism
Mostly in noun forms
still developing and spreading
Works cited:
Zoltán, I. G. (2014). Peculiarities of Cockney Rhyming Slang. Studia Universitatis Petru Maior - Philologia, 17,

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