rhyming slang
2
9.9
- noun
- /ˈraɪmɪŋ slæŋ/
- Slang
:
jerga rimada
- Using rhyming slang, 'apples and pears' refers to 'stairs.'
- Cockney rhyming slang
Examples
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So Cockney rhyming slang, I have to give you a brief history in, in, in in London history.
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Rhyming slang and thieves
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Oh, it's a rhyming slang, sir.
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Like rhyming slang, it worked by replacing certain words with other words; for example, "to snaffle" meant "to rob the shit out of someone."
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Cant and rhyming slang were actually so prominent that some of the words they used bled into our modern lexicon, well, English people's lexicon anyway.
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The thing is, though, the seedy origins of rhyming slang are contested, with many arguing that it wasn't invented specifically to evade the police; however, there was a similar language that was, we know, because it's making a comeback.
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In Cockney rhyming slang, 'trouble and strife' means 'wife.'
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He explained that 'Adam and Eve' is rhyming slang for 'believe.'
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun phrase is directly compositional: 'rhyming' describes the kind of 'slang', so a learner who knows both words can infer it is slang that uses rhyme. Although specific conventions (e.g., omitting the rhyming word) are a cultural detail, the core meaning is transparent and predictable from the constituents.
Etymology
The noun rhyming slang comes from a playful trick in old London where people replaced a word with a short phrase that rhymes with it. One popular story says market sellers and people in pubs used phrases like apples and pears for 'stairs', and then often dropped the rhyming word and said apples, so the rhyme hides the real meaning.