Cockney Phrases

Adam and Eve

- believe (as in "Would you Adam and Eve it")

almond rocks

- socks

apples and pears

- stairs

ariss

- arse (aristotle = bottle = bottle and glass)

barnet fair

- hair

Berk

- c**t (Berkshire Hunt reduced to berk and used as an insult)

Butchers Hook

- Look (Lets have a butchers at the paper)

bird lime

- time = prison ("Jack is doing bird for theft")

borasic lint

- skint = no money

Brahms and Liszt

- pissed = drunk

brass tacks

- facts ("Lets get down to brass tacks")

brown bread

- dead ("he is brown bread")

china plate

- mate (can be said to a complete stranger)

cream(ed) crackered

- knackered = tired out

dickie dirt

- shirt

dog and bone

- phone (dog 'n' bone)

duck and dive

- skive, avoid work

Dutch (Street)

- to share (Going Dutch means everyone pays their bill)

fiddle

- diddle = swindle

Flowery dell

- cell = prison or small room

frog and toad

- road

Ginger beer

- queer = homosexual

half - inch

- pinch ("He's half-inched me motah") (He has stolen my car)

Hampstead Heath

- teeth

Hampton wick

- prick = penis

J Arthur Rank

- wank = masturbate (also merchant banker)

jam jar

- motor car

jimmy riddle / jimmy riddle

- piddle = urinate

joanna

- piano

kermit the frog

- bog = lavatory

marbles and conkers

- bonkers = mad ("He's lost his marbles")

Mickey Bliss

- piss, deriding or making fun of as in 'Taking the Mickey'

mince pies

- eyes

mothers ruin

- gin

Mutt and Jeff

- deaf ("She's a bit mutt and jeff")

Nellie Duff

- puff = life ("Not on your Nellie")

north and south

- mouth (norf 'n souf)

peckham rye

- tie

plates of meat

- feet

plink and plonk

- vin blanc = wine (all wine is plonk, from bad french vin blanc)

pony

- £25 ("That'll cost you a pony")

pony and trap

- crap = rubbish ("That's a load of old pony")

pork pies / porkies

- lies

rabbit and pork

- talk ("Can that woman rabbit!)

Radio Rental

- mental = A few sandwiches short of a picnic ("He is a bit Radio rental")

raspberry tart

- fart (blowing a raspberry = a rude and derogatory noise)

Richard the Third

- turd, shit

rip and tear

- swear ("He really let rip")

rock and roll

- dole now called social security (in USA a fight, as in "Lets rock")

Rosey Lee

- tea

Rub a dub dub

- pub

Ruby Murray

- curry

Scarpa Flow

- go ("Got to scarper")

sixes and sevens

- fix = difficulties ("We are all at sixes with this work")

strides

- trousers (from striding along - walking)

Sweeny Todd

- (Metropolitan Police) Flying Squad normally called "The Sweeny"

syrup of fig

- wig ("That bloke is wearing a syrup!")

taters in mould

- cold (It's a bit taters today)

thr'penny bit

- tit

tit for tat

- hat

Tod Sloan

- alone ("I'm on me tod"). Tod Sloan was a jockey who was always out in front, in his own.

Tom and Dick

- sick

Trouble and strife

- wife

two and eight

- state = problems ("You are in a right old two and eight")

Whistle and flute

- suit

bung

- bribe

bunk

- abscond

cor blimey / strewth

- surprise (cor blimey is from God Blind me, whilst
strewth is from Lord's truth)

dosh

- money

dutch courage

- drink, alcohol

french letter

- condom (lettre anglais, if you are French)

going dutch

- share expenses

gone for a Burton

- dead eg "Where is Tom" "He has gone for a burton" (from an advert, during the war, for Burton Ales that had a missing character in the picture)

guv

- governor = boss

hot

- stolen ("I think this car's hot" could mean stolen or fast)

Kushti

- comfortable, good (bad translation of an Indian word)

luv

- love

mush

- friend (possibly from Russian for Husband)

nark

- police informant

nosh

- food (possibly from Russian for Knife)

varder

- look at, see

lallies

- legs (varder those bulging lallies - look at those musclar legs)

bonnie palones

- girls

sorted (pronounce "sor-id")

- solved a problem