Cockney rhyming slang a peculiar kind of slang, known as cockney rhyming slang, evolved in england. Can you complete the ultimate cockney rhyming slang. The slang was given a global stage thanks to the popularity of east end gangster movies such as lock, stock and two smoking barrels and rock n rolla. The athletes of team usa want to be good guests and. There are even dictionaries for cockney rhyming slang, from pocket versions tailored for tourists, to online listings. Cockney rhyming slang for knackered, if youre cream crackered then youre incredibly tired. Eastenders star danny dyer fears cockney rhyming slang is dying out. A cockney refers to the working class londoner, particularly those living in the east end. There are as many as 150 terms that are recognized instantly by any rhyming slang user.
Witty eastenders have been coming up with this slang since the early 19th century, making the. Sometime in the past thirty years or so the phrase has become rhyming slang in britain for knackered. The mostused cockney slang was found to be the phrase porky pies with per cent of those questioned still using it. Its cockney rhyming slang for knackered, which in itself is slang for tired or worn out.
Finally cockney rhyming slang was used for describing various notes and coins of the realm. Oddly enough the word knacker is from old norse for saddle maker. To cream oneself implies great sexual excitement, but often used figuratively. British cockney slang for nackered, meaning extremely tired or worn out. Thats a slightly older slang term there are examples going back into the 1950s which means exhausted or worn out. It is a kind of antilanguage where words are replaced by phrases that rhyme sound the same. Cockney rhyming slang is a diverse form of slang which originally came from the capital of england, london but has since spread across the country and is widely used. Cockney as a dialect is most notable for its argot, or coded language, which was born out of ingenious rhyming slang. Cockney rhyming slang is still alive and well in the east end of london, and indeed across other parts of london. This type of slang is often used in day to day informal. To claim a quango is a place to send anyone troublesome.
Cream crackers, incidentally, do not go well with tea. London cockney rhyming slang, words, expressions, meanings, explanations and. Creamcrackered unknown british cockney slang for nackered, meaning extremely tired or worn out. Wow, im feelin so creamcrackered soon i might be brown bread. Cockney, according to the strict definition, refers to those born within the sound of bow bells. A knacker is a term now used for an animal slaughterer who slaughters animals not for food use.
Cockney rhyming slang a list, with their meanings and origins. Looking for cornish slang, welsh slang, liverpool slang, london slang, manchester slang, street slang, txt spk, gay slang and any other rude stuff thats spoken in britain. I was out all day yesterday, and im pretty cream crackered, so i may watch a film and go to bed. Cockney rhyming slang is not a language but a collection of phrases used by cockneys and other londoners. Cockney rhyming slang is a form of english slang which originated in the east end of london. Here are some phrases youll probably hear during a trip to the u. Big bens last bong the news in cockney rhyming slang big ben is a dirty great tick tock that lives near westminster bridge.
But it came into its own in the 1800s when street traders and criminals both used it as a means of covert communication. This is because knackered is an english term for being tired. For example, the phrase use your loafmeaning use your headis derived from the rhyming. Common words are replaced with a couplet of words or a short phrase, the final word of which rhymes with the word they replace. The team at the business insider uk office have compiled a list of the best british slang and idioms that define the weird and wonderful british dialect we. A dictionary of slang c slang and colloquialisms of. Allo me chinas, ive got a cockney 3for1 this week, with bonus sides of regular ol british slang.
Cockney rhyming slang an explanation and a list, with their meanings and. Test your knowledge on this geography quiz to see how you do and compare your score to others. Brits and americans may speak the same language, but that doesnt mean we always use it in exactly the same way. It is like a coded language invented in the nineteenth century by cockneys so they could speak in front of the police without being understood. It uses a phrase that rhymes with a word, instead of the word itself thus stairs becomes apples and pears, phone becomes dog and. Cockney rhyming slang every language has a few phrases that dont always translate well and the british english has some absolute corkers. Cockney rhyming slang is a specialised form of slang used in the east of london. Cream crackered hello bongo hippowarehouse cream crackered drawstring cotton school. Creamcrackered is cockney rhyming slang for beingfeelingfelt knackered. A cream cracker is a savoury dry biscuit, often eaten with cheese.
The actor uses the lingo in his role as mick carter and said he appreciates the freedom given to him by show bosses to do so. The editor accepts that there are some wordsexpressions not listed. Cockney rhyming slang a list, with their meanings and. Cream crackered cream crackered is cockney slang for knackered. A knacker was the person that slaughtered wornout horses in the 19th and 20th centuries for. It was originated from in the eastend of london and is still being used today by many of the young, and older eastend residents. There are quite a few phrases like this, for example if a cockney says. It is considered rhyming slang, which is very common in the cockney dialect from which this word originated. As the london 2012 olympic games continues, we thought you might like to see a different side to some of the athletes of the u. A dialect found mostly in east london, where people obviously have more time to say what they want to say, and are more paranoid about being overheard. A cockney traditionally is a person born within hearing distance of the sound of bow bells, meaning within the sound of the bells of the church of st mary le bow in cheapside, london, ec2 and refers to an east london accent, however to most people living outside london the term cockney means a londoner. Two good sites for the latter are london slang and cockney rhyming slang.
My father, not a londoner, nevertheless worked in london as a young butchers apprentice before the war. The principle is to decide what it is you want to say, and then find words which bear no real relation to what youre going to say, but which rhyme loosely with your phrase. This is cockney rhyming slang, used in east london but gradually falling out of use as younger generations switch to more international colloquialisms. Linkpage citation eastenders star danny dyer fears cockney rhyming slang is dying out. It uses a phrase that rhymes with a word, instead of the word itself thus stairs becomes apples and pears, phone becomes dog and bone and word becomes dicky bird. Understanding cockney rhyming slang one woman so many blogs. Cockney rhyming slang meanings and examples bloomsbury. Cockney rhyming slang is a form of english slang which originated in the east. Cockney english and english cockney dictionary to browse online. As a name, cockney rhyming slang is 20th century, as are the majority of examples of crs terms. Many of its expressions have passed into common language, and the. Please forward any wordsexpressions missing and we shall add them to the list.
According to the dialectblog the problem with pinpointing who came up with rhyming slang is the fact that is occurs so often. I thought id creamed my exams but i failed all but one. Cockney rhyming slang is just shorthand for london or english rhyming slang. Cockney rhyming slang is a coded language invented in the nineteenth century by cockneys so they could speak in front of the police without being understood. Can you name the cockney rhyming slang translations. 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. Also, other cockney areas have wordsexpressions unique to their area. Cream crackered often shortened to creamed, meaning knackered exhausted. Cockney rhyming slang meanings and examples bloomsbury news blog cockney rhyming slang is a coded language that uses an expression which rhymes with a word instead of using the actual word.
Because id had a couple of drinks after the show, and also because i was cream crackered, i had a driver. Cockney rhyming slang traces back to the fifteenth century. Cream crackered is cockney rhyming slang for knackered. Cockney rhyming slang is a coded language invented in the nineteenth century by. Oh, and a lot of recent peacy stuff, which i may have to ease up on. Creamcrackered meaning of creamcrackered by lexico. Forget the cockneys, a quick guide to irish rhyming slang. Cream crackered, knackered tiredbroken, im cream crackered. Forty per cent of the study also said they felt cockney rhyming slang was dying out, and a third admitted they were sad it was fading away. English currency was not called such mundane names as a five pound note and the like. Knackered itself is a slang term for tiredexhausted.
Most of us know it means to head up the apples and pears because youre cream crackered, but how much cockney rhyming slang do you really understand. Cream crackered is cockney rhyming slang for knackered so they are effectively the same. Londoners baffled by cockney rhyming slang telegraph. North and south mouth adam and eve believe sometimes, the last word is dropped. Cream crackerscrackered knackersknackered testiclesworn out also.