Cockney Trivia

1. We'll start with the bit of slang I sneakily threw in to the introduction - "have a butcher's". From the list below, which is the correct full phrase and its meaning?

From Quiz The Cockney Code Uncovered!

Answer: Butcher's hook = look

"Butcher's hook" is often just shortened to "butcher's", meaning to have a look. It is thought that this phrase may have originated somewhere around Smithfield Market in Farringdon, London. Smithfield's is famous all over the land for its meat markets, which date back thousands of years. Certainly there would have been plenty of butchers and their hooks here, and was certainly a spectacle to look at! The market still operates today, though sadly the magnificent building is looking a little dilapidated. Cockney slang is thought by many to have originated amongst the market traders (costermongers) of London, particularly those who may have been trading illegally, as a sort of code. Others believe the Cockney vernacular to be far older.

From Quiz More Cockney Rhyming Slang

Answer: stairs

Apples and pears is real old Cockney slang for stairs. The wooden hill is another English expression for stairs but not punchy enough for Cockneys.

From Quiz Maybe It's Because I'm a Londoner

Answer: Gravy

Gravy, a sauce made from the juices of (particularly roast) meat.

From Quiz Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Cockney Rhyming Slang)

Answer: A dollar

Oxford Scholar - Dollar. Strictly speaking it meant five shillings or a crown, which was, in pre-war times, almost the equivalent of a dollar. In contemporary use, it is another way to refer to a dollar.

From Quiz Cockney rhymes

Answer: Stairs

From Quiz More Rhyming Slang

Answer: brandy

From Quiz Cockney Slang

Answer: Stairs

Apples and Pears -- Stairs

From Quiz The Cockney Code Uncovered!

Answer: His wife

A classic Cockney rhyming slang phrase with a touch of crude humour, "trouble and strife" is usually said as a whole phrase to mean "wife". An alternative phrase is "bag for life" - lets hope these respective wives don't get offended!

From Quiz Maybe It's Because I'm a Londoner

Answer: A bar of soap

A soaplike substance found during excavations of ancient Babylon indicates soapmaking was practised around 2800BC.

From Quiz Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Cockney Rhyming Slang)

Answer: The Army

Daft and Barmy - Army, he would be telling you that he was in the Army.

From Quiz Cockney rhymes

Answer: A watch

From Quiz Cockney Rhyming Slang

Answer: Sneeze

A sneeze is described in Wikipedia as a "semi-autonomous, convulsive expulsion of air from the lungs through the nose and mouth, usually caused by foreign particles irritating the nasal mucosa". Dear me, all those words for a hearty and satisfying "Archoo!". Sneezes can also spread germs far and wide, however - 40,000 droplets of germs per sneeze to be precise - so they're potentially dangerous if you're sitting too close to the sneezer. Several triggers can set off a sneeze in an individual. Interestingly, one of these includes having an over full stomach from eating too much. Other Cockney slang includes Brass Tacks - facts; Bricks and Mortar - daughter; Brown Bread - dead; Bubble and Squeak - Greek; Bubble Bath - laugh; and Chalfont St. Giles - piles.

From Quiz More Cockney Rhyming Slang

Answer: suit

'Whistle and Flute' means a suit, another of the clothing rhymes. 'Daisy roots' is boots. Cockney slang changes and develops all the time. Originally it was a way of communicating without other people from outside the East End of London understanding. With radio and television the language is almost universally understood thanks to programmes like 'Porridge' and 'Only Fools and Horses'.

From Quiz Maybe It's Because I'm a Londoner

Answer: a fiver

The Five Pound note (fiver) was first issued by the Bank of England in 1793.

From Quiz Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Cockney Rhyming Slang)

Answer: The stairs

Dancing Bears - Stairs. Another (more common) term for stairs is Apples and Pears, usually shortened to Apples.

From Quiz Cockney rhymes

Answer: feet

From Quiz More Cockney Rhyming Slang

Answer: car

Of course a jam jar is a car. My grandad was very proud of his first 'jar'. Another interesting piece of British slang is a 'jam sandwich' for a 'police car' because a lot of police cars are white with a red stripe across the sides.

From Quiz Cockney Rhyming Slang - words & phrases

Answer: wear it

You'd wear it on your head. "Titfer tat" (from the common phrase "tit for tat") rhymes with hat, and the "tat" is dropped.

From Quiz Maybe It's Because I'm a Londoner

Answer: Mental

A company called 'Radio Rentals' began by renting out radios and later progressed to TVs. Taken over by Granada, they are now called 'Boxclever'. 'Radio Rental' is rhyming slang for 'mental', suggesting that someone is in an unbalanced state.

From Quiz Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Cockney Rhyming Slang)

Answer: Spectacles

Gregory Pecks - specs - spectacles. Gregory Peck is also rhyming slang for neck and cheque!

From Quiz Cockney rhymes

Answer: Indian

Ruby Murray, a popular singer of the 1940s and 1950s has a surname that rhymes with curry, and then her name gets shortened to Ruby. Going to eat at an Indian restaurant may be described as going for a Ruby - and as a result, there are a number of Indian restaurants in London that have Ruby in their name.

From Quiz Cockney Slang

Answer: Beer

Pig's Ear -- Beer

From Quiz Cockney Rhyming Slang

Answer: Go up the road to pay the rent

Apart from being Cockney for a road, Frog and Toad are two characters in a series of children's books by Arnold Lobel. Frog is tall, rather slender, fun-loving and green, while Toad is a brownish shade, plump, and rather serious in outlook. Together these two friends deal with various issues, usually of a comical nature. The Duke of Kent - rent - is an ongoing expense for many people who do not own their own homes, and have to pay out a weekly or fortnightly outlay to rent accommodation instead. Then there's Dustbin Lids - kid; Elephant's trunk - drunk; Flowery Dell - cell; Hank Marvin - starving; and Half-Inch - pinch.

From Quiz More Cockney Rhyming Slang

Answer: stink

'Ooh there's a pen in here!' my gran would say, pulling a face meaning there was a 'pen and ink' stink. Interestingly a website about rhyming slang gives the answer 'drink' for 'pen and ink'. This was not the use applied in my family!

From Quiz Maybe It's Because I'm a Londoner

Answer: Scapa Flow & Scapa Flo

Scapa Flow is a sea area around the Orkney Islands, Scotland. Until 1957 it was a Royal Navy base, having been the main base of the Grand Fleet during WWI.

From Quiz Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Cockney Rhyming Slang)

Answer: Booze

Cockney rhyming slang includes new terms as well as the better-known ones that have been used for many years. Tom Cruise - Booze. Tom is also rhyming slang for Tom and Dick - Sick; Tom Thumb - Rum; Tom Foolery - Jewellery; Tom, Dick and Harry - Dictionary; Tom Jones - Bones, and, Tom and Jerry - Merry.

From Quiz Cockney rhymes

Answer: The Queen

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