Sometimes "Gertie Gitana" (a music hall entertainer) was substituted for the refrain, leading to "Gertie" becoming Cockney rhyming slang for banana the usage of which continues to the modern day.
One such example is the widely used phrase, still common today, “blowing a raspberry” which originates from 'raspberry tart', rhyming slang meaning 'fart'.
Examples. The form of Cockney slang is made clear with the following example. The rhyming phrase apples and pears is used to mean 'stairs'. Following the pattern of omission, "and pears" is dropped, thus the spoken phrase "I'm going up the apples" means "I'm going up the stairs".
The even grimmer thing is "bacon" is also cockney rhyming slang for a pervert – I'm giving Clarkson the benefit of the doubt but it's even less of a good look.
To tell a porky is something everyone's been accused of as a child – and perhaps even older! A fib or a lie; to tell a pork pie means to fabricate something and it has to be one of the all-time favourite phrases in the Cockney Rhyming slang dictionary.
When in use, boracic lint proved to be very valuable in the treatment of leg ulcers. The term "boracic" is also used as Cockney rhyming slang for having no money: "boracic lint" → "skint".
"Cream-crackered" is Cockney Rhyming Slang for "knackered" or tired, so if someone's feeling "cream-crackered," they're probably in need of a nap. Another common example of Cockney Rhyming Slang is "apples and pears," which means stairs.
Hank Marvin was a guitarist in popular band during the 1960s. Cockneys took a shine to his name, and now you can announce your levels of hunger by including Hank, Marvin, or Hank Marvin in a sentence.
'Knickers' (women's underwear) in modern rhyming slang, sometimes shortened to 'Alans', from the broadcaster Alan Whicker (b. 1925). ... Introduction. Using the Dictionary. Abbreviations.
Originated from the old slang 'peter', for portmanteau (a trunk or a box), the term was applied to the box-like qualities of a cell) A black peter was a punishment cell, usually a very dark one. Associated peters were cells with at least two prisoners in them. A peter thief is a prisoner who steals from others' cells.
When ordering half a pint of beer, you can use the phrase “cow's half” and, once it gets you pissed, aka drunk, you can refer to the state you're in as “Brahms and Liszt” or “elephant's trunk”. There are multiple slang phrases for the pub, but some of the most popular ones are “rub-a-dub” and “nuclear sub”.
Hampstead Heath. Heath rhymes with teeth. Drop the word that rhymes – I mean, this is London, after all, it's important that it be a bit subtle, a bit opaque – drop the word Heath – which rhymes with teeth – and that leaves Hampsteads – plural – as your cockney rhyming slang word for teeth.
In most anglophone countries, it is known as a raspberry, which is attested from at least 1890, and which in the United States had been shortened to razz by 1919. The term originates in rhyming slang, where "raspberry tart" means "fart".
Before the age of television and computers, in homes all over London Saturday night was the night for a good old 'ding-dong' – official Cockney rhyming slang for a 'sing-song' – around the 'old Joanna”, with families gathering around the piano to sing songs learnt off by heart and passed down through the generations.
