Cockney Rhyming Slang Trivia Quiz

Answer: Lodger

An Artful Dodger in the world of Cockney slang, is a lodger at your premises. Hopefully, he wouldn't pinch the silver as well as that slippery fellow. Also known as Jack Dawkins, he was a young con-man in Charles Dickens 1837-39 work, "Oliver Twist". Films of this famous story, up until 2017, have been made an astonishing eleven times, plus a TV film (1982), a TV serial (1985), and two miniseries as well (1999 and 2007). The films, the first five of which were silent, were made in 1909, 1912, 1916, 1919, 1922, 1933, 1948, 1974, 1982, 1987, 2005.

Then there's Adam and Eve - believe; Alan Whickers - knickers; Ascot Races - braces; Baker's Dozen - cousin; and Ball and Chalk - walk.

Answer: Judge

And you'd be in trouble to boot, when his or her gimlet eye fixed upon you. You may even do some "bird and lime" (time - in prison) as a result. The role of a judge dates back to Biblical times and earlier, when an expert in a given field was called up to make a decision in a matter of law over the guilt or innocence of the accused. In English courts in particular (in modern times), judges wear long black or red robes, with long white carefully curled wigs on their heads, sit on an elevated bench and usually hold a gavel which they may be called upon to bang every so often to either pronounce judgement or call for order in the court. Apart from the gavel, this outfit was based on the correct court dress worn by the time King Edward III (1312-1377 was the King of England. It was considered the correct dress for any upper class gentleman at Court, so a judge wouldn't have even warranted a second glance, one imagines.

We also have Barney Rubble - trouble; Barnett Fair - hair; Battlecruiser - boozer; Bees and Honey - money; and Bob Hope - soap.

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.

Answer: Watch the telly

Who knows how the telly evolved into custard and jelly in the Cockney community. Custard and jelly, though, is a nice fattening and tasty dessert, so who cares. Television, that flickering box of mindlessness in the corner of the lounge room, has been with the world since the late 1920s when it was still more or less in its experimental form. Its hold on the human mind has grown more and more ferocious as the decades passed, and, while it can be a wonderful tool for learning and for keeping the public up to date on significant life issues and world news, it can be a very bad servant indeed.

Of course, they also use these Cockney expressions as well: Chalk Farm - arm; China Plate - mate; Cows and Kisses - the missus; Dicky Dirt - shirt; Dinky Doos - shoes; and Cock and Hen - ten.

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.

Answer: Fiver

According to legend, Lady Godiva was the wife of an English Nobleman who rode naked on a horse through Coventry in order to convince her husband to lessen the severity of the taxation he had imposed on his people. A Lady Godiva is also a five pound note which my friend either returned, or lent, to me. I probably spent this on either going to a Kick and Prance (dance); or purchasing an Irish pig (a wig - and that's an insulting term), or some Lionel Blairs (flares), or even some Loop the Loop (soup), and had a Laugh and a Joke (smoke) while I was at it.

Answer: Brown eyes

Hmm, eyes, What one say about eyes that is interesting? They evolved in animals some 600 million years ago according to the encyclopaedia, during the time of the Cambrian Explosion. That was a short period in the history of the world when plants and animals of every kind began to develop various and distinct characteristics which later enabled man to classify them into various families and kingdoms. And obviously man needed eyes to do that. There are ten different eye types apparently across the entire animal kingdom. These include simple eyes, compound eyes, superposition and apposition eyes, and so on - each with its own unique abilities.

But when my brother kissed that girl on the North and South (mouth), she punched him on the Loaf of Bread (head) and said men like him made her Pat and Mick (sick). So he sadly took his Dog's Meat (feet) home and had some Rosy Lee (tea) instead.

Answer: A yank at the pub

He was wearing a nice pair of Round the Houses (trousers) and was eating a Ruby Murray (curry). He said his Sausage Roll (goal) in life was to join a Sweeny Todd (a flying squad), but his Skin and Blister (sister), who was with him, just laughed and said even walking up the Table and Chairs (stairs) made him air-sick. "Yank" is an abbreviated form of the word "Yankee" which people from the UK and Australia, for example, use, somewhat insultingly, to describe an American.

Answer: A thief

In long ago times, before pockets in clothing were invented, people used leather pouches, which they carried separately, to hold assorted objects. By the time of Otzi the Iceman, a famous mummy who had lived circa 3,300 BC however, it was noted that his leather pouch was actually sewn onto a belt he was wearing. This rather fascinating snippet of information indicates that the first steps to incorporating pockets into clothing was on the way. Sewing pockets into clothing is really irritating just in passing. Thieves - people who unlawfully take the possessions belonging to another person or persons, have been around since the year dot.

A few more pieces of Cockney rhyming slang, well decent ones at least, are Baked Bean (the Queen); Boat Race - face; Butcher's Hook - a look; Daisy Roots - boots; and Darby and Joan - moan.

Answer: Alone

That's because Ted's Trouble and Strife (wife) was in a Two and Eight (state) of annoyance with him and was refusing to speak to him. So he drank of few glasses of Vera Lynn (gin) to cheer himself up. Then he decided to go and buy her some Tomfoolery (Jewellery) to appease her, but when he returned home, he was wearing a new Whistle and Flute (suit) instead. So she pulled his Fireman's Hose (nose) and most definitely had a few Dicky Birds (words) to say to him then.

A few final examples of Cockney slang include Currant Bun - sun; Mork and Mindy - windy; Roast Pork - a fork; and Tommy Trinder - window (as in winder). The rest are impolite.