Molly and Bess have been pestering me for a small contribution to their blog. Aside from offering five useful facts about Moses Hess, it occurred to me that our fine student body should become familiar with the stunning and profound phenomenon of cockney rhyming slang. Cockney’s are those Londoners born within the sound of the Bow Bells, a church in the heart of the East End of the city. Over the years Cockneys have developed their own slang which is a code of speaking wherein a common word can be replaced by the whole or abbreviated form of a well-known phrase which rhymes with that word.

so here are five examples to begin with:

1. apples and pairs  = stairs
2. frog and toad       =  road
3. tit for tat                =   hat
4. loaf of bread         =  head
5. trouble and strife  = wife

So for example, if you were to say, “I’m going up the frog,” cockneys would understand you to be saying I’m going up the road. Similarly, the expression “I’m going home to trouble” would be understood as I’m going home to (trouble and strife) the wife. Once you have understood the principle, feel free to go to the following website for a Cockney - English dictionary of terms.