Cockney Rhyming Slang
Joachim and Mike
Example Sentence
• “It nearly knocked me off my plates – he was wearing a syrup...”
Mechanism
Wife – Trouble and strife
“Trouble”
Telephone – Dog and bone
“Dog”
Take a walk – Duke of York
“Duke”
History
• Origin: East London, 1840s
• Speakers: Working class
• Purpose: Verbal cypher
– Confuse police / outsiders
– Keep middle men out of loop
– Develop sense of community
Development
• Use of London toponyms
– Peckham Rye – Tie
• Pop culture references
– Max Miller – Pillow
– Britney Spears – Beers
• Used nowadays
• Use your loaf – loaf of bread – use your head
Make your own
• Think of words for UCU terms!
– Dining Hall
– The Bar
– Voltaire
– The Bubble
– Kromhout
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