Cockney slang

03/31/08

 Today two topics would be dealt with, perhaps rather unfamiliar topics. They are: Cockney Slang ,  Spoonerism. Quite a few of you may be conversant the latter, but I wonder how many of you have heard of the former.  So first with Cockney  Slang :

    This is a peculiar rhyming slangused in some parts of London, where some two million people (this figure is a little outdated; the latest position can perhaps be ascertained from Google search, or any other source). To illustrate by an example,     'Money' rhymes with  'Honey'. A related word to 'honey' is considered, one of them being 'bees'.  Hence, in this Cockney Slang, 'bees' stand for ' money' !

     Some more examples (with the above illustrated approach, or by whatever logic it might be), are as follows:

Rain = Andy Cain        Tram = Baa lamb      Facts = Brass tacks      Wife = Trouble
Sister = Skin and blister         Whisky = Gay and frisky      Feet = Plates of meat
Coat = Quaker oat      Home = Gates of Rome      Head =  Loaf
Children = God forbids      Liar = Holy Friar       Dollar  =  Oxford

      Some places in and around  London,  are sometimes used ;

Teeth = Hampstead Heath     Glass = Hackney Marsh       Bottle = Ari (from Aristotle)
Eye = Mince Pie  or  Steak and Kidney Pie          Door = Rory  O'More
Trousers = Rounds  (from round the houses)      Fire- Alarm = Chalk Farm
Shabby = West minister Abbey    Alone = Pat Malone      Noise = Box of Toys

     This slang is supposed to have spread to Australia as well. New additions can be thought of. For example, There is one 'Hilda'. With this slang, it get transformed into 'basmati', because, Hilda rhymes with Tilda  which is a reputed brand of Basmati !

     Now a few words about Spoonerism. It consists of exchange of the first letters of two successive words. For example: 'food gun'  for 'good fun'.   'wed ragon' for 'red wagon' 'mild wan' for 'wild man'      'glue bate'  for 'blue gate'  and so on.  An interesting aspect of Spoonerism is 'Spoonerism in action'.  An example:  John was leaving by train, and his wife came to the station for bidding farewell. The butler too came carrying some eatables. As the train  was about to take off, John in his hurry tipped his wife and kissed his butler !