A Dictionary of Cockney Rhyming Slang

Cockney is a dialect spoken in the Eastend in London and Cockney rhyming slang is a pretty simple if somewhat odd affair. It basically consists of a couplet of words, the second of which rhymes with the word you’re actually aiming at. For example, the word “glasses” is represented by the phrase “Aristotle Onassis,” and the word “look” by the phrase “butcher’s hook.” Cockney rhyming slang is talked about more often than it is actually used. Some phrases are in fairly common usage country-wide — you’re quite likely to hear people saying “butchers” to mean “look,” or “porkies” to mean “lies” (pork pies), but you’re unlikely to hear anyone talking about putting on their Aristotles.