Cockney Engish orginated in the 19th Century and is fun and amusing to use in England,
- Australians and Americans have adapted some of the Cockney slang.
- Cockney English is most notable for its rhyming slang.
- It is also seen as the language of the working class, it has been used in parodie to great effect, also used in top English television program such as East Enders, it was also used to great effect by the Two Ronnies.
- It is being dispalced in England now with Jamican Creole.
- The traditional definition of a Cockney is for somebody to have been born close to the chiming bells of Bow Bells ( destroyed in 1666 by the Great London Fire, to take it literally now would not be right, as the area is no longer residential
- What is termed as the Cockney East End. Whitechapel, Bethnal Green, Spitalfields, Stepney, Wapping, Limehouse, Poplar, Hackney.Millwall,, Shoreditch, Bow and Mile End. The East End grew to include East Ham, Stratford, West Ham and Plaistow as London expanded.
- Migration of Cockneys has also led to migration of the dialect. Ever
- Cockney English has spread away from the inner cities to the outskirts of the towns.
- There is also an influence in places like the Republic of Ireland ,Wales, Scotland, were the main English programs are brodcast daily.
- Cartoon below showing how cockney is spoken.
I have included a lot of examples of Cockney English, Enjoy!
| London Cockney expression | London Cockney Literal Meaning | Examples of Cockney sayings in use. |
| Dickie Bird | word | |
| Adam and Eve | believe | (’would you adam and eve it?’) |
| have a butchers | take a look | from butcher’s hook = look |
| as in "take a butchers at that" | ||
| Apples and pears | stairs | |
| snout | tobacco | |
| north and south | mouth | |
| plates | feet | from plates of meat = feet |
| as in "you’ve got big plates" | ||
| Cloud seven | heaven | |
| Boat (boat race) | face | |
| nark | police informer | "he’s a copper’s nark" |
| loan shark | unofficial money lender | |
| screw | prison officer | "the worst thing about porridge is the screws" |
| boat race | face | as in "nice legs, shame about the boat race" |
| Bread | money | |
| Bull and cow | row | |
| skin and blister | sister | |
| trouble | wife | from trouble and strife = wife |
| as in "going home to the trouble" | ||
| dustbin lids | kids / children | |
| whistle | suit | from whistle and flute = suit |
| as in "do you like the whistle?" | ||
| Adam and Eve | believe | as in "would you Adam and Eve it?" |
| Rosie Lea | tea | as in "I’d love a cup of rosie" |
| Mutt and Jeff | deaf | |
| oily rag | fag = cigarette | as in "I’m going for an oily" |
| jam jar | car | |
| mince pies | eyes | as in "feast your mincers on this" |
| pen and ink | stink | as in "cor! what a pen and ink" |
| porky | lie | from pork pies = lies |
| as in "he’s telling porkies" | ||
| Barnet | hair | from Barnet Fair = hair |
| as in "he’s losing his Barnet" | ||
| Brahms | Drunk | from Brahms and Liszt = pissed |
| Gregories | glasses / spectacles | from Gregory Pecks = specs |
| Titfer | hat | from tit for tat = hat |
| rumbled | found out | "We’ve been rumbled" |
| Mother’s ruin | gin | |
| apples and pears | stairs | |
| Jimmy | urinate | from Jimmy Riddle = piddle |
| borassic | broke / skint | from borassic lint = skint |
| as in "can’t go out, I’m borassic" | ||
| Hampstead Heath | teeth | you got a nice pair of Hampstead Heath |
| two and eight | state | as in "he’s in a bit of a two and eight" |
| Bertie Woofter | gay man | from Bertie Woofter = poofter |
| China | mate / friend | from China plate = mate |
| as in "how are you, my old China" | ||
| Half inch | pinch as in to steal | |
| north and south | mouth | |
| fence | handler of stolen goods | |
| Frog and Toad | road | |
| Hit and miss | kiss or piss | |
| Khyber | buttocks | from Khyber Pass = arse |
| rabbit and pork | talk | as in "Don’t rabbit so much" |
| Oxo | Tube | Another word for the London underground |
| Jam jar | car | |
| Greens (greengages) | wages or money | |
| Porky | lie | |
| tea leaf | thief | |
| potato mould | cold | as in "it’s a bit taters in here" |
| Jack Jones | alone | |
| the filth | the police | "look out it’s the filth" |
| dog and bone | phone | as in "you’re wanted on the dog and bone" |
| loaf | head | from loaf of bread = head |
| as in "Use your loaf" | ||
| Niagra Falls | balls (testicles) | |
| Sky rocket | ||
| brown bread | dead | |
| pots and pans | hands | |
| battle cruiser | boozer | boozer = pub = public house (a place to drink) |
| elbows and knees | trees | |
| gold watch | Scotch | Scotch = whiskey |
| Sausage and mash | cash | |
| leave it out | stop it | |
| pride and Joy | boy | Take the pride and joy to the match |
| current bun | Sun | I’m going out to get a bit of current bun |
| dicky | shirt | from dicky dirt = shirt |
| Richard the Third | turd | he did a Richard the Third in the toilet. |
| Sweeney Todd | Flying Squad | |
| Peckham Rye | tie | named after a place in London |
| Hampstead Heath | teeth | named after a place in London |
| jugs | ears | from jugs of beers = ears |
| Skin and blister | sister | |
| Errol Flynn | chin | |
| almonds | socks | from almond rocks = socks |
| Turkish bath | laugh | |
| ones and twos | shoes | |
| rhythm and blues | ||
| daisies | boots | from daisy roots = boots |
| bird | prison | from bird lime = time as in "doing bird" |
| Trombone | phone | |
| Thora Hird | third |
Below is a map of England which shows the similarities between languages and the map shows the closeness to Cockney English of other areas.
