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