British English / Cockney Rhyming Slang

British English Slang
A-F | G-L | M-R | S-Z | Cockney

Here is a list of just many of the colourful slang terms that have come from the East End of London.

Note that the actual rhyming part of the name is dropped in common parlance, just to make things more impenetrable.

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Well-known Phrases

• Apples and pears: Stairs. Mostly a Pop Culture Osmosis with Brits that aren't Cockney. If there are any imitators, they most likely will say "Apples and pears — stairs!"
• [Aunt] Joanna: Piano. Down under, it's mutated to "Goanna", a kind of lizard. (Hence Joanna the lizard in The Rescuers Down Under.)
• Barclays [Bank]: Wank. Also Barclays Banker – wanker, useless person, City banker.
• Battle cruiser: Boozer; i.e. pub.
• Berk: Literally, cunt, from Berkeley Hunt. Nowhere near as insulting as the origin might lead you to believe, and never used to refer to a literal vagina; in fact is a mild and pretty affectionate insult calling someone silly or stupid.
  • Sometimes misattributed to the term 'Berkshire Hunt' which makes less sense – note that, while 'berk' is pronounced as "burk", the county of Berkshire is said "Barkshire".
  • In more recent years, this has been (appropriately) replaced with "James Blunt".
  • One joke on Mock the Week states that Bargain Hunt doubles as rhyming slang for "the bloke who presents it".
• Boat race: Face.
• Boracic [lint]: Out of money – see "skint" above.
• Brass tacks: Facts. This is one of the few examples to have made it into American English; John W. Campbell used it as the name of the Astounding (later Analog) letters page.
• Bristols: Tits – "Bristol City": titty^note though one wonders, of all the British Footy Teams titled "City", why Bristol was chosen. Why not call them Hulls? Or Stokes? Or Chesters? Addendum: One theory as to this is that the choice of Bristol has nothing to do with the city itself; rather, the twin Bristol engines on certain World War II British aircraft such as the Blenheim were considered by air crews to resemble breasts.).
• Brown bread: Dead.
• Have a butcher's: Have a look at something. "Butcher's Hook" = look.
• Charlies: Inoffensive term for a woman's genitals, or sometimes breasts. From "Charlie Hunt", whoever he was. Also "Charlie" meaning "twit", as in Berk above.
• Me old China: Mate or friend ("China plate" = mate).
• Nuclear sub: Pub.
• Near and Far: Bar.
• On one's Tod [Sloan]: Alone.
• Dog and bone: Telephone.
• Frontwheel Jewish person (could be derogatory). "Front-wheel skid = Yid"
• Porkies [Pork pies]: Lies. This, along with "apples and pears", is very well-known to many in the UK.
• Septic [tank]: Yank; derogatory term for Americans. (Yank itself is rarely intended to be offensive, neither is Yankee. If they call you septic, however, well, it already sounds bad anyway).
• Sherbet [dab]: Cab (taxi), though "sherbet" can also refer to cocaine.
• Tea leaf: Thief.
• Tin tack: Sack; as in, the metaphorical one you're given when you're dismissed from your job.
• Trouble [and strife]: Wife.
• Slang for money:
  • Bees and honey: Money in general.
  • Dustbin lid (quid): £1
  • Lady Godiva (fiver): £5
  • Ayrton [Senna] (tenner): £10
  • Score: £20
  • Pony: £25
  • Bullseye: £50
  • Ton: £100
  • Monkey: £500
  • Bag of sand (grand): £1000
  • Shrapnel: loose change.
• Jimmy Riddle [Widdle]: Piddle (to urinate).
• Slap and tickle: Pickle.
• Hot cross bun: Nun.
• Whistle and flute: Two- or Three-piece Suit.
• Plates [of meat]: Feet. As in "having your plates out", means "walking barefoot".
• Slang for the police
  • John [Hop]: Cop.
  • Bottle and stopper: Copper.
• Khyber Pass: Arse. Best known from the title of Carry On Up the Khyber, which was very much Getting Crap Past the Radar.

Slang With Pop-Culture References

• Mork & Mindy: Windy.
• Winnie the Pooh: Shoe.
• The Brady Bunch: Lunch.
• Scooby-Doo: Clue. As in, "I ain't got a Scooby [Doo] about this."
• Wallace & Gromit: Vomit.
• The X-Files: Piles.
• Zippy and Bungle: Jungle.
• Danger Mouse: Spouse.
• Judge Dredd: Head.
• Adam and Eve: Believe ("I don't Adam and Eve it!")
• King Lear[s]: Queer (homosexual)/ears.
• Captain Kirk: Work.
• Jurassic Park: Dark.
• Willy Wonka: Plonker.
• Bridget Jones: Moans.
• Slim Shady: Old lady.
• Harry Rag, a Harry: A fag, strictly meaning a cigarette. Also a jolly song by The Kinks.
• Burlington Bertie: 30. An old British music hall song from 1915. It's often the slang of the number during games of bingo.
• The Canterbury Tales: Wales.
• Mona Lisa: Pizza.
• Harry Lime: Time.
• Jekyll & Hyde[s]: Strides (trousers).
• The Incredible Hulk: Sulk.
• Hey diddle diddle: Fiddle. Honestly, which one would it be for?
• Tom Sawyer: Lawyer.
• Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: Cockney Rhyming Slang. Yes, even the language has its own name.
• Sodom and Gomorrah: Borrow.
• Sweeney Todd: The flying squad (the police).
• Teletubby: Hubby (husband).
• Walter Mitty: Kitty.
• Jackanory: Story.
• McGarret: £50.
• Barney Rubble: Getting into trouble.
• Tommy Tank: Wank

Slang Named After the Famous

• Jimi Hendrix: Appendix.
• Lillian Gish: Fish.
• Manfred Mann: A plan.
• Gloria Gaynor[s]: Trainers.
• Tom Hanks: Thanks.
• Mariah Carey: Scary.
• John Wayne: Train.
• Jackson Pollock[s]: Bollocks.
• Christopher Lee: Pee (urinating).
• Tom Jones: Bones.
• Jay Kay: Takeaway.
• Jack the Ripper: Kipper.
• Myrna Loy: Saveloy (a type of sausage).
• John Cleese: Cheese (fitting because Cleese's father's surname was originally Cheese before he (the father) changed it).
• Eartha Kitt/Brad Pitt: Shit.
• Alan Whicker[s]: Knickers (underwear).
• Errol Flynn: Chin.
• Bob Marley: Charlie (this is slang for cocaine, with no relation to the name of any person).
• Ricky Gervais: Ace.
• Gregory Peck: Neck. It's as famous as "apples and pears".
• Sylvester Stallone: Alone.
• Nelson Eddy: Readies (can mean "ready money" or any amount of money).
• Alan Ladd: Sad.
• Keira Knightley: Slightly.
• Pete Tong: Wrong. (Tong is a famous British radio DJ. Also the name of a Canadian Mockumentary and a Paul Kaye film, It's All Gone Pete Tong)
• Keith Moon: Loon.
• Vincent Price: Ice.
• Julius Caesar: Geezer.
• Vincent van Gogh: Cough.
• Fred Astaire: Hair. (Can also be stairs.)
• Joan of Arc: Park.
• Wallace Beery: Query.
• U2: Flu.
• John Major: Wager.
• James Dean: Keen.
• Laurel and Hardy: Bacardi.
  • Stan and Ollie: Brolly (umbrella).
• Beyoncé Knowles: Sausage rolls.
• Henry Fonda: Honda (car company).
• George Raft: Graft (slang for "work").
• Johnny Depp: Step.
• Anna May Wong: Pong (smell).
• Mickey Rooney: Loony.
• Hattie Jacques: The shakes (as in, shaking with terror).
• Hank Marvin: Starvin' (hungry).
• Shania Twain: Pain.
• William Powell: Towel.
• Johnny Cash: Slash (urinate).
• Ruby [Murray]: Curry. Named after an otherwise obscure singer from Stroke Country.
• W. Somerset Maugham: Warm.
• Jane Russell: Mussel.
• Shirley Bassey: Chassis.
• Jackson: £5.