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It developed as a way of obscuring the meaning of sentences to those who did not understand the slang, though it remains a matter of speculation whether this was a linguistic accident, or whether it was developed intentionally to assist criminals or to maintain a particular community.
Rhyming slang works by replacing the word to be obscured with the first word of a phrase that rhymes with that word. For instance, "face" would be replaced by "boat", because face rhymes with "boat race". Similarly "feet" becomes "plates" ("plates of meat"), and "money" is "bread" (a very common usage, from "bread and honey"). Sometimes the full phrase is used, for example "Currant Bun" to mean " The Sun" (often referring to the British Tabloid Newspaper of that name). There is no hard and fast rule for this, and you just have to know whether a particular expression is always shortened, never shortened, or can be used either way.
Some substitutions have become relatively widespread in Britain, for example to "have a butcher's" means to have a look, from the rhyming slang "butcher's hook", and these are often now used without awareness of the original rhyming slang (so for example "berk" and "cobblers" -- see list below -- are both less taboo than their etymology would suggest). However, most actual and purported substitutions are still not in common usage.
This style of rhyming has also spread through many English-speaking countries, where the original phrases are supplemented by rhymes created to fit local needs. For example it is very popular and widely used in Australia. Creation of rhyming slang has become a word game for people of many classes and regions. The term Cockney rhyming slang is generally applied to these expansions to indicate the rhyming style, though arguably the term only applies to phrases used in the East End of London.
It is often used in films (such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998), which contains a glossary of Cockney rhyming slang on the DVD version to assist the viewer) and on television (e.g. MinderMinder was a British comedy drama, made by Euston Films, a subsidiary of Thames Television, and shown on ITV, that ran in ten series from 1979 to 1994. It starred George Cole as Arthur Daley, an unscrupulous used-car salesman, and Dennis Waterman as Terry, EastEndersEastEnders is a popular BBC television soap opera, which was first broadcast on February 19, 1985. Setting It is set in and around the fictional Albert Square, ostensibly located in the equally fictional London borough of Walford in London's East End.) to lend authenticity to an East End setting. The theme tune to The Italian JobThe Italian Job is a British comedy caper film, directed by Peter Collinson and written by Troy Kennedy Martin. It was released in 1969 and was a substantial hit, not least because of the prescence of Michael Caine; subsequent television showings and outi, composed by Quincy JonesQuincy Jones (born March 14, 1933 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American record, television and film producer, musician and songwriter. Jones is especially well known for his work with Michael Jackson as the producer of Jackson's most famous albums ( Off th, contains many Cockney rhyming slang expressions. The lyrics by Don Black amused and fascinated the composer. Also, The Audiobullys or The StreetsMike Skinner aka The Streets (born 27 November 1978) is a rapper and musician from Birmingham, England. Early Years Skinner acquired his first keyboard by the age of five. As a teenager, he built a miniature recording studio in his bedroom. He began writi use the slang in almost all of their songs. The box office success Ocean's ElevenOcean's Eleven is an American crime movie of 1960 directed by Lewis Milestone and starring the five Rat Packers: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr. Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford. Other stars included Angie Dickinson and Cesar Romero. In the movi (2001) contains an incorrect example of Cockney rhyming slang, when the character Basher Tarr uses the slang "Barney" to mean "trouble," derived from " Barney Rubble ." In fact (as most Londoners will tell you) "Barney" does not mean trouble but means an argument or a fight and is probably derived from "Barn Owl" which (in a cockney accent) rhymes with row (argument).
Some rhyming slang is rooted in the era of its origin and may be destined to be lost. In the 1980s, for example, " Kerry Packered" meant "knackered"; the current (2004) term "Britneys" to mean beers, via the music artist " Britney Spears", may not outlast Britney's own career.
In America some common slang seems to have had its origin in Cockney rhyming slang: "dukes" means fists; "duke it out" means settle an argument via fisticuffs; "bread" means money; "creamed" means beaten.
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