'Allo me old china - wot say we pop round the Jack. I'll stand you a pig and you can rabbit on about your teapots. We can 'ave some loop and tommy and be off before the dickory hits twelve.

or, to translate

Hello my old mate (china plate) - what do you say we pop around to the bar (Jack Tar). I'll buy you a beer (pig's ear) and you can talk (rabbit and pork) about your kids (teapot lids). We can have some soup (loop de loop) and supper (Tommy Tucker) and be gone before the clock (hickory dickory dock) strikes twelve.

The origins of Cockney Rhyming Slang are uncertain. It's not really a language since the words spoken are clearly English; on the other hand, it's not a dialect either, since the speakers of this slang are also perfectly capable of not using it! Some stories go that this slang originated in the market place so that the vendor's could communicate without the customers knowing what was being said - you wouldn't want your customers knowing that you were going to lower your prices in ten minutes so you could go home early. Other stories have it that it originated in the prisons so that inmates could talk without the guards listening in. It doesn't really matter where it comes from - the important thing is that it exists today just as it has for many, many years and can provide a wonderful, colourful language in everyday life.

It is very difficult to describe what Rhyming Slang is without using an example, but I'll give it a try. Basically, you take a pair of associated words (e.g. fish hook), where the second word rhymes with the word you intend to say, then use the first word of the associated pair to indicate the word you originally intended to say. Usually. And some slang words have more than one meaning (for example, iron can be a bank (Iron Tank) or a homosexual (Iron Hoof - this rhymes with poof which is a particularly English expression for homosexuals), so context is everything! There - clear as mud.

Let's use an example: From the example listed above, you are talking about a book. The rhyme is "fish hook", so the slang expression is fish, as in "I'd like to say a word about the new fish by Len Deighton" except, of course, a real Cockney would more likely say "I've got a dickie about Deighton's new fish"; dickie is from dickie bird (i.e. word). Doesn't really clear things up at all, does it? Imagine a conversation like this:

"Got to my mickey, found me way up the apples, put on me whistle and the bloody dog went. It was me trouble telling me to fetch the teapots."

which really means,

"Got to my house (mickey mouse), found my way up the stairs (apples and pears), put on my suit (whistle and flute) when the phone (dog and bone) rang. It was my wife (trouble and strife) telling me to get the kids (teapot lids)."

Now you've got an idea about what is possible, why not go back to the previous page and try your hand at it!