There is much in this forum concerning how the colonials have mangled English over the centuries.  Something that appears not to have made it across the pond or round to the antipodes is a bit of British mangling that we have inflicted on ourselves.

At least, that’s how one of the stories goes.  (In brief)  In order to be able to speak freely in the vicinity of authority (particularly "rozzers"), a coded form of vocabulary was invented to inhibit understanding.  There are other stories of course, maybe we will be treated to them in due course.

Anyway, to get back to the point, the essence of the game is to take a short phrase which rhymes with the original word, and then use the first word of the phrase instead of the word itself.

Example:

Word to be hidden is "Mate" (friend, chum, etc.).
Phrase chosen is "China plate".
This can then be woven eloquently into a sentence such as:

‘ow’re doin’ me ol’ china?

(Maybe I should have warned you that Cockneys are also notorious for dropping the beginning and ends of words, especially leading h’s as well as abusing vowels and consonants whenever possible)  Reconstructed, we find "How are you doing my old mate?"

This reminds me also that "old" is used freely to fill any available gap in a sentence and has nothing to do with age!  In short - you can put it any old where you choose.

So, not to ramble on too much, I thought it might be amusing not to attempt to reveal to the uninitiated any more of the better known rhyming phrases, but rather to tease some of you by simply quoting the code word in some simple context and leaving the linguistic sleuths amongst you to solve the puzzle.

At least one contributor has owned up so far to being of the Cockney persuasion.  To prolong the fun, I suggest that you might like to add some of those I have not included, rather than giving the answers.  This also applies to other non-Cockney Brits like myself

The keywords are italicised.

1. Go up the apples.
2. Mind you don’t step on that Richard!  (I think they may be two answers to this)
3. Your dickie is in need of changing.
4. Your whistle has seen better days.
5. I wish I had a trouble like yours.
6. Let’s have a butcher’s inside.

PS - I admit not to being fluent in this stuff, native Cockney speakers or those with more advanced skills should free to correct any errors.

Have fun!

OK… I’ll attempt one, at least.

I imagine that number 5, ‘I wish I had a trouble like yours’ translates to ‘I wish I had a wife like yours’, as I am aware that trouble and strife means wife.

Toronto’s Globe and Mail newspaper is often called the Mop and Pail by local wags.

It’s a ‘quality daily’ and often stiff in its reporting. The tabloid-format Toronto Sun, with its page-three Sunshine Girl, is the downscale offering, while the broadsheet Toronto Star holds the middle ground.

Were the Titanic to sink today, it’s said the three papers would report on the event as follows:

The Globe and Mail: Cargo Lost as Ship Sinks
The Star: Star Reporter Saves Drowning Puppy as Ship Sinks
The Sun: Crew Has Sex with Passengers as Ship Sinks

OK Linnet, you got the easy one!

I shall be off-line for a few days.  When I return, I will reveal the remaining answers if necessary.

Trust me to get the easy one.

I’ve been thinking about ‘Let’s have a butcher’s inside’ and the only thing I can think of is a butcher’s block.  The associations that come to mind make me blush!  :-[

I’m thinking "talk".

"Apples" makes me think of "apples and oranges." (The classically hardest word to rhyme, of course, and likely a place-name.)

[quote author=DerekB
2. Mind you don’t step on that Richard!  (I think they may be two answers to this)
6. Let’s have a butcher’s inside.

Have fun!

Richard the Third  or, variously Dick da toid [read as Chicago accent, i think] - turd
Butcher’s Hook - look

and two in return
Sky
Titfa

My Dad was born within the sound of Bow bells and used these. But as a butcher, he also spoke backslang, wherein eht sdrow erew lla delleps ni esrever! It allowed the butcher to be desparaging about a customer without giving offense, or to ask a colleague "to ssap taht hguor dne fo bmal" when making poor meat sound special. Hard times.

Bryn

4. Your whistle has seen better days.

Hemmm .. "whistle stop" perhaps equals "mop".
"Your mop has seen better days." as in "Your hair’s a mess."?

Ciao,
Barnett

and two in return
Sky
Titfa

Titfa sounds reminescent of tit-for-tat; perhaps some kind of a spat?

My Dad was born within the sound of Bow bells and used these. But as a butcher, he also spoke backslang, wherein eht sdrow erew lla delleps ni esrever! It allowed the butcher to be desparaging about a customer without giving offense, or to ask a colleague "to ssap taht hguor dne fo bmal" when making poor meat sound special. Hard times.

The ‘rough end of lamb’ reminds me a similarly uninviting cut of meat on last week’s episode of  Monarch of the Glen, when Lexie was fooled into serving ‘scrag ends’ to a very important guest.

Talk about fate, I’ve just posted a guide to cockney numbers somewhere else on the Agora!!

I shalln’t spoil the fun as Derek quite rightly requested, but add a few more:

A few helpers for Sky & Titfa - you’re on the right lines with tit-for-tat.
"I might put me titfa on me loaf, when I went out for a balla down the frog to the rubadub for a pint. Of course I’d put on me best rounds and make sure I’ve got money in me sky just in case"

Cor blimey, makes me prawd to be a Londoner

[quote author=Dedalus link=board=omni;num=1030903795;start=0#10 date=09/04/02 at 12:26:06]
I shalln’t spoil the fun as Derek quite rightly requested, but add a few more:

"I might put me titfa on me loaf, when I went out for a balla down the frog to the rubadub for a pint. Of course I’d put on me best rounds and make sure I’ve got money in me sky just in case"

titfa = hat
loaf = loaf of bread = head
frog = ?frog and toad? = road
rubadub = rub-a-dub-dub = pub

balla = "ball of" something?

I’ll have to sit on that.

[quote author=bmassey link=board=omni;num=1030903795;start=0#8 date=09/03/02 at 22:22:25]4. Your whistle has seen better days.

Hemmm .. "whistle stop" perhaps equals "mop".
"Your mop has seen better days." as in "Your hair’s a mess."?

Ciao,
Barnett

Try Whistle and flute to see if that helps.
Bryn

Would you Adam and Eve it?

In the commentaries I have read, the purpose of Cockney Rhyming slang is usually attributed to keeping information from the

police. My experience with a Londoner father and a Black Country (industrial midlands) father-in-law suggests a different

reason for its continuing popularity. They both had a mischievous streak and would sometimes express themselves in perverse manner just for merriment. The latter would intone, "I’m going out now. If I should  get back before I return, keep me here until I arrive".

Here are a few more for you to try (or is that pry?) out. I’ll post just the abbreviated form first, then hopefully give the full phrase later if they prove troublesome.

Boracic
Brahms
Daisy
Dog
Dutch
Half
Jack
North
Plates
Roger
Rosy
Tea

... and there’s nothing new about a profanity filter…

Pen
Khyber
Auntie
Cream(ed)
Raspberry
Bristol
Jimmy
Tom

The challenge these days is the range of modern additions. I suspect very few have true Cockney origins; here are a few obvious youngsters…

British Rail = email
Tony Blair = hair
Finally, we sometimes here expressions like Eye-dum-diddle (=middle), and Joanna (=piano) where the entire rhyme is present, but Im not sure if these originated from the same tradition. I suspect they come from people who fail to appreciate the cryptical aspect of just giving the first word of the phrase.

Bryn

    I particularly like the roundabout origins of "duke" as in (and this is from what I understand an Americanized version of the original meaning) "put up your dukes."
    I’ve been told the original (proper? if cockney can be called proper.) meaning was just "hand" rather than "fist."

    I won’t delineate the origins now unless nobody else can pick them out or just happens to know them.

This is my final list
Duchess
Irish
Jenny
Rock
Rabbit
Punch

All the ones I’ve answered or offered were from memory, but I can mention Wicked Cockney Rhyming Slang, by Betty Kirkpatrick, pub. Michael O’Mara Books Ltd, http://www.mombooks.com.

[quote author=seanmcox link=board=omni;num=1030903795;start=0#14 date=09/04/02 at 14:22:02]     ... "duke" as in "put up your dukes."

I’d followed the listing for Dutch (as in song: My Old Dutch) but that did not help. Then the dictionary said it is an abbr. of Duchess and I found that made sense. Then I was wondering about Duke, so I’d welcome the explanation. It is not in the book.

Bryn