The Lexicography Of Cockney Slang
October 7, 2015
As part of the CRIES OF LONDON season I have devised for Bishopsgate Institute, the foremost lexicographer of slang Jonathon Green is giving a lecture about Cockney rhyming slang entitled Slingin’ the Old Jack Lang: London’s Coster Language on October 22nd at 7:30pm. Click here for tickets
Copies of Paul Bommer’s print ‘The Cockney Alphabet’ are available from the online shop
You may like to read my original profile
9 Responses
leave one →
C – for confused. Am I missing something?
Blimey! ‘Orf let the trouble-and-strife ave a decco at this
Aphorism, Beef tea, Seaforth Highlanders, Deferential, Effervescent etc
L – for lost. Where is my hat? 😀
Roger,
C (see) for miles
This brings back good memories of my misspent youth! Valerie
T-4-2 — Nothing beats a full English Breakfast or the famous Cream Tea!
Love & Peace
ACHIM
Rogers. It’s not the traditionally Cockney Rhyming Slang. Trouble and Strife, Apple and Stairs and that kind of thing. Actually I’m not even sure it is a thing.
In this case, the letters actually represent part of a word, and FOR represents the other. For instance T For gums uses the T and the For to make the work Teeth, so Teeth Or Gums. B For Mutton translates to Beef Or Mutton with B and the F translating to BeeF OR Mutton. Also “O for the Fence” stands for Over the Fence with O & For translating to Over.
Frankly, I don’t get all of them, and they confused the hell out of me as they all don’t follow the same rules.
Hope this helps
R for Askey was an old one.