Cockney Rhyme Glossary

About This Glossary:

I am a Third Year English Degree student at the University of Leicester. This website is an assessed piece of coursework for the Slang module I chose to specialize in my final year.As I have studied English passionately for a long time, I have realized that I love studying the history and origins of our language. I really fascinates me and has caused me to be branded by my friends a 'Grammar Geek'.

The main focus of my investigation into Cockney rhyming slang was to determine and identify the progression of this form of English slang from its origins to the present day usage. I have a personal connection to this form of slang as my family have strong roots in the East End of London, and I was interested to see how it has been passed down through various generations; hoping to find out how many of the traditional terms have survived and what (if any) have been modernised? To do this I observed the language of my family members and interviewed them about the history they knew surrounding the Cockneys and the etymology of various phrases I found they had been using.

Julian Franklyn writes in his book The Cockney: A Survey of London Life and Language that 'the evolution of slang words, or phrases, or system of usage, is as mysterious as is that of standard language.' The justification of incorporating slang as part of language is essential in sociolinguistic studies as, personally, I find that slang is far more natural and representative of human nature in communication and is far more beneficial in examining gender and regional variations in communication, which is why I am so interested in the history of Cockney rhyming slang.

Another aspect of this study that interested me was the historical value: specifically the origin of the term Cockney and the formation of the rhyming slang itself. I was keen to find out a lot more factual and concrete information within my review of the literature around this subject.

A detailed history can be found under A Cockney History where I have tried to plot the progression of this slang sub-culture from the various 'origins' of the term Cockney to the Victorian view that Cockneys and their rhyming slang were vulgar and linked to the criminal underworld to the stereotyped Cockney characters that have taken the media by storm during the last forty years of the twentieth century.

For an explanation of the rhyming slang used and an analysis of the modernisation it has endured over the past century, then go to Cockney Rhyme. You will also see examples of poetry published in the late 19th Century and what I believe the future holds for this unique 'sub-language' as well as the problems of producing a complete detailed glossary for this particular part of slang.