Lemon squeezy rhyming slang
Hello Ha, and everyone reading!
Ha, I’m glad you had a great birthday. Catching up with friends is a great way to spend your special day. We don’t really go in for karaoke much in the UK. I think we’re all a bit too self-conscious to stand up in front of people and sing. Usually, on our birthday we would go out for dinner or maybe go down the pub for a few drinks and a chinwag.
It’s Saturday today, which means we should do something fun. Today I’m going to tell you about Cockney Rhyming Slang.
As you may know, a ‘Cockney’ is someone who was born in the Eastern part of London. Specifically, a Cockney should be born within hearing-distance of the bells of the church of St Mary-le-Bow, in Cheapside.
As you may also know, ‘slang’ is informal language. You’ll hear slang a lot when people speak, or when people write informally.
So, Cockney Rhyming Slang is a special kind of informal language first used by people in the East End of London. This slang has spread, and now there are certain phrases that everyone in the UK understands and uses.
How does Cockney Rhyming Slang work? Well, take a word such as ‘feet’. The Cockneys then came up with a phrase where the second word rhymes with ‘feet’. For example:
original word: feet
phrase with second word rhyming: plates of meat
So, if you say ‘my plates of meat are killing me’, it means your feet hurt.
Also, in some very well-known slang phrases, the second word is omitted altogether, e.g.
Original word: look
Phrase with second word rhyming: butcher’s hook
Omit the second word from the phrase: butcher’s
So, the phrase ‘Come and have a butcher’s at this’ means ‘Come and have a look at this’.
Some other common examples of Cockney Rhyming Slang are:
apples and pears = stairs
trouble and strife = wife
china plate = mate
dog and bone = phone
New Cockney Rhyming Slang terms are being coined all the time. One of the newest is:
Pete Tong = wrong
(Pete Tong is the name of a famous DJ in the UK).
You’ll often hear younger Brits moaning that everything has ‘gone Pete Tong’.
So, shall we see whether you can work out what this little story means? I’ve been nasty and included a couple of slang terms that I haven’t explained to you. Can you rewrite this in standard English?
I rushed down the apples and pears. The dog and bone was ringing.
‘Hello?’ I asked.
‘Where are you, you idiot?’
It was the trouble and strife.
‘You were supposed to be at the church an hour ago!’
I’d forgotten about the wedding! Oops!
‘I don’t Adam and Eve it! For God’s sake, can’t you use your loaf for once? Put your whistle and flute on and get here straight away!’
My mince pies are sore from looking at the computer screen, so I’m finishing now.
Enjoy your weekends!
Jo
Vocabulary
to catch up – to find out about someone’s news and what has been happening to them
to go in for – to be keen on something or interested in something
chinwag – a talk/a chat
come up with – invent
Answers to your comments
Naheed – I think you probably understand my personality very well. If you don’t expect too much, you’re usually pleasantly surprised when good things happen. I’m sure you’ll get the career (and man!) of your dreams. When is your exam?
Maria – a cake made with beer! That sounds like a great idea for a party!
Ana Paula – you can sometimes miss pronouns out, as long as it is the same pronoun that is being repeated, e.g.
I have finished work and (I) am going shopping.
But you couldn’t say:
I am going shopping and is coming with me.
(who is ‘coming with me’? We need to specify ‘he’ or ‘she’)
Stevieboy – you can say ‘historic’ or ‘historical’ – both are adjectives. ‘historic’ is more usual.
Sherzod – Salom! Yes, we do have a strange way of naming floors in Britain. The ‘ground floor’ is the floor at ground level, e.g. you would walk off the street straight into the ground floor of a shop. If you then went up one flight of stairs, you’d be on the first floor. Other countries like Canada though don’t bother with a ‘ground floor’. They start with a first floor.
Jai – the most important thing is to be happy now, right? If you want to say anything about the time before you were married, you can use the phrase ‘pre-marital’, i.e. ‘my parents don’t believe in pre-marital love’.
Comments
Hello Jo, How are you? I have a stab at the homework, I hope it will be correct. I rewrote the story in this way: ((I rushed down the stairs. The phone was ringing. ‘Hello?’ I asked. ‘Where are you, you idiot?’ It was the wife. ‘You were supposed to be at the church an hour ago!’ I’d forgotten about the wedding! Oops! ‘I don’t believe it! For God’s sake, can’t you use your loaf for once? Put your coat on and get here straight away!’)) I'm sory for your eyes being sore from looking at the the computer screen. Tell me Jo, what does they call husband?
Hello Jo!!! Many thanks again for clarifying another one of my doubts.Hmm... If I had read the little story above without any explanation before, I would think there´s something Pete Tong with you Jo :-). Anyway, it´s really interesting to know about this kind of slang, I´ve never heard about Cockney Rhyming Slangs before. Hmm... now the story. I gave it a go, and I tried to rewrite the story in standart English: I rushed down the stairs. The phone was ringing. Hello? I asked. Where are you, you idiot? It was my wife. You were supposed to be at church an hour ago! I´d forgotten about the wedding. Oops! I don´t believe it! For God´s sake, can´t you use your brain for once? Put your suit on and get here straight away! By the way Jo, are your eyes ok now? If they aren´t ok, you can prepare a strong chamomile tea, and then let it get cold, after that, soak two cotton wool balls in the chamomile tea, and then put them on your mincies( enjoy the opportunity to relax. Oh, in this meanwhile you can hear one of your favourite Muse songs.). You will feel the sore vanishing in a puff of smoke :-). Enjoy your weekend, Ana Paula.
Hi! Jo, Thanks for the correction.HW-I rushed down the stairs. The phone was ringing. ‘Hello?’ I asked. ‘Where are you, you idiot?’ It was the wife. ‘You were supposed to be at the church an hour ago!’ I’d forgotten about the wedding! Oops! ‘I don’t forgive it! For God’s sake, can’t you use your commonsense for once? Put your suit on and get here straight away!’ Jo in above conversation you used "supposed to be".I heard many times in spokenenglish that phrase ie,supposed to do.Can you explane when we will youse this phrase.
Hello Jo! Really great topic. I had a laugh. I needed some sources from the Internet to translate the story. I rushed down the apples and pears. The phone was ringing. ‘Hello?’ I asked. ‘Where are you, you idiot?’ It was the wife. ‘You were supposed to be at the church an hour ago!’ I’d forgotten about the wedding! Oops! ‘I don’t believe it! For God’s sake, can’t you use your head for once? Put your suit on and get here straight away!’ Jo, I agre with you! If your eyes are sore from looking at the computer screen, it’s better to finish. Dusan
Jo, I wonder if we are going to win Oxford Scholars, if we get the puzzle right. Maybe, so I will have a go… I rushed down the apples and pears (stairs). The dog and bone (phone) was ringing. ‘Hello?’ I asked. ‘Where are you, you idiot?’ It was the trouble and strife (the wife). ‘You were supposed to be at the church an hour ago!’ I’d forgotten about the wedding! Oops! ‘I don’t Adam and Eve (believe) it! For God’s sake, can’t you use your loaf (head) for once? Put your whistle and flute (suit) on and get here straight away!’ My mince pies (eyes) are sore from looking at the computer screen, so I’m finishing now. Jo, what a nice exercise, it made me feel as a saucepan lid.
Hey!! Thanks for your replies. it feels really good to know that you take some time to answer our questions... Internet is a great thing is should say. I rushed down the stairs. The phone was ringing ‘Hello?’ I asked. ‘Where are you, you idiot?’ It was my wife ‘You were supposed to be at church an hour ago!’ I’d forgotten about the wedding! Oops! ‘I don’t believe it! For God’s sake, can’t you just use your head for once? Put your suit on and get here straight away!!’ Take care! see you later!
I would like to know when to use "being" in the sentence , under what context you use that word i mean which tense you use that word. Waiting for your reply,
i read this blog for a week i realy intrested and think not only it is very intresting but also we could brush up our english skill any way i could be very glad if i elected to blogging in this place thanks for every thing i have a quastion that obsess my mind long time if you know we can use simple present and present continues to express some thing in future for example "your flight depart tehran two weeks later" or "your flight is departing tehran tow weeks later" and i dont know what's the diffrence between them i wondering if you could answer me and explan this subject
Hi Jo, it's an interesting way to say like Cockney. I am wondering how to say in Cockney Rhyming Slang when you are hungry? I rushed down the stairs.The phone was ringing."Hello?" i asked."Where are you, you idiot?" It was the wife."You are supposed to be at the church an hour ago!"I'd forgotten about the wedding!Oops!"I don't love it!For God's sake,can't you use your mind for once? Put your clothes on and get here straight away.Be honest, I use my imagination to the limit.
Hello Jo and your cats and Raffles, I confess that if Cockney Rhyming Slang terms are being coined all the time, I would have to study English to the death. But Jo, does Panther use this kind as well? How nasty it is! but I will try just to impress Panther. Here is the story written in standard English: I rushed down the stairs. The phone was ringing. 'Hello?' I asked. 'Where are you, you idiot?' It was the wife. 'You were supposed to be at the church an hour ago!' I'd forgotten about the wedding! Oops! 'I don't believe it! (Jo, I doubt it might be Pete Tong as believe has two syllables, Eve only one. I found "peeve" but it doesn't make sense here) For God's sake, can't you use your mind for once? Put your suit on and get here straight away. My mince pies are sore from looking up in the dictionary and at the computer sreen so bye for now, best wishes to you and the pet chaps.
Hello Jo!It's always fascinating to read your blogs.I've learned so much from them and am learning.I'm preparing for my computer based exams and considering to take them by the end of July but it will take a little part of August too(no worries!).Still there are two years to go to become a management accountant(such a long time:<).To cheer me up, I have an interesting homework from you.Here is my story:I rushed down the stairs. The phone was ringing. ‘Hello?’ I asked. ‘Where are you, you idiot?’ It was the wife. ‘You were supposed to be at the church an hour ago!’ I’d forgotten about the wedding! Oops! ‘I don’t believe it! For God’s sake, can’t you use your brain for once? Put your whistle suit on and get here straight away!’ This is the first time I have come to know about the Cockney Rhyming Slang and I liked it very much.I hope you eyes are better now.Bye
Hello Jo, good to know slangs. I am amused by one of my friends, who uses animal metaphors all the time in the conversation...! What I don't understand is, he using, "holy-cow"? what does that mean, in which regards one can use it. it is really funny, is it slang as well? Somehow I like to use it, he uses pig, fish, cats and dogs, lamb, bull, owl, eagle cow, horse, bird, and what not...! It is really funny and effective sometimes ............... HW: I rushed down the stairs. The phone was ringing. ‘Hello?’ I asked. ‘Where are you, you idiot?’ It was the my wife. ‘You were supposed to be at the church an hour ago!’ I’d forgotten about the wedding! Oops! ‘I don’t believe it! For God’s sake, can’t you use your brain for once? Put your suit on and get here straight away!’ ............. Also, there is something, i dont understand is, "goodness me", I heard people using it, but does not ring the bell when I want to use it... Cheers, Manas
I find this article amusing and well written. Thanks. Well done.
hi!!! I don't understand all the text because my english is very bad LOL but I think this language is great. It's something like a younth language, it isn't? I hope that you will understand my little text, and I'M SORRY FOR THE MISTAKES!! good night everybody!! :)
i realy enjoed ur article ans find it funny too thanks for sharin it
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