Cockney Rhyming Slang โ€” A Visual Dictionary Apples and Pears โ†’ Stairs Dog and Bone โ†’ Phone Trouble and Strife โ†’ Wife Porky Pies โ†’ Lies Loaf of Bread โ†’ Head Butcher's Hook โ†’ Look China Plate โ†’ Mate (friend) Ruby Murray โ†’ Curry Bees and Honey โ†’ Money Step 1: Find a rhyme. Step 2: Drop the rhyming word. Step 3: Confuse everyone.
Language Fun5 min readMay 19, 2026

Apples and Pears, Dog and Bone: The Secret Language of London's East End

Cockney rhyming slang started as a way for market traders to talk without customers understanding. Today, phrases like 'telling porkies' and 'use your loaf' are embedded in everyday British English.

I first encountered Cockney rhyming slang when a British friend told me she was "going up the apples to answer the dog." I stared at her. Apples? Dog? What was she talking about? Turns out, she was going up the apples and pears (stairs) to answer the dog and bone (phone). She hadn't said anything about fruit or canines. She was just speaking Cockney โ€” and I had just discovered one of the most creative linguistic subcultures in the English-speaking world.

Where Did It Come From?

Cockney rhyming slang emerged in the 1840s among market traders, costermongers, and street hawkers in London's East End. The defining feature of a true Cockney, by tradition, is being born within earshot of the Bow Bells โ€” the bells of St Mary-le-Bow church in Cheapside. The East End was (and in many ways still is) solidly working-class, with tight-knit communities where everyone knew everyone else's business.

There are several theories about why rhyming slang developed. The most popular: it was a secret language. Market traders wanted to discuss prices, customers, and โ€” let's be honest โ€” potentially stolen goods without outsiders understanding. If you're selling a "borrowed" pocket watch and a constable walks by, it helps to have code. "That's a nice Boris" (Boris Karloff = scarf) would fly right over a policeman's head.

Another theory: it was simply a form of wordplay. East Enders, like many working-class communities, loved linguistic creativity. Rhyming slang is fundamentally playful โ€” it takes a familiar word, finds a rhyme for it, and then (here's the really clever part) often drops the rhyming part. So "stairs" becomes "apples and pears," which gets shortened to just "apples." Without knowing the code, you're completely lost. With it, you're in on the joke.

How the Code Works (With Diagrams, Figuratively)

The formula is deceptively simple: take a word, find a two- or three-word phrase where the last word rhymes with it, then optionally drop the rhyming word. Examples:

  • Stairs โ†’ Apples and Pears โ†’ Apples ("I'm going up the apples")
  • Phone โ†’ Dog and Bone โ†’ Dog ("He's on the dog")
  • Wife โ†’ Trouble and Strife โ†’ Trouble ("The trouble's at home")
  • Lies โ†’ Porky Pies โ†’ Porkies ("You're telling porkies!")
  • Head โ†’ Loaf of Bread โ†’ Loaf ("Use your loaf!")
  • Look โ†’ Butcher's Hook โ†’ Butcher's ("Take a butcher's at this")
  • Feet โ†’ Plates of Meat โ†’ Plates ("My plates are killing me")
  • Suit โ†’ Whistle and Flute โ†’ Whistle ("Nice whistle, mate")

The key to the code is that you never say the rhyming word. The rhyming word is the clue, but it's also what would give the game away. You only say the non-rhyming part. This is what makes it genuinely hard to decode if you're not in the know.

Pop Culture Made It Famous

Cockney rhyming slang went from being an East End curiosity to an international phenomenon largely through British television and film. The classic sitcom Only Fools and Horses (1981โ€“2003) featured Del Boy, a wheeler-dealer from Peckham who peppered his speech with rhyming slang โ€” though he often got it hilariously wrong. The 1998 Guy Ritchie film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is practically a rhyming slang masterclass. And let's not forget EastEnders, the BBC soap opera that's been running since 1985 and has introduced millions of viewers to the linguistic quirks of London's East End.

Today, some Cockney rhyming slang has been absorbed into mainstream British English. If you tell a Brit they're "telling porkies," they'll know exactly what you mean, even if they've never set foot in the East End. "Use your loaf" is another one that escaped its geographic cage. "Berk" โ€” a mild insult in British English โ€” is actually rhyming slang: Berkshire Hunt โ†’ a very rude word that I'll let you look up yourself.

Modern Cockney Is Constantly Evolving

One of the coolest things about Cockney rhyming slang is that it's not a dead museum piece. It keeps evolving, and new phrases get coined that reference modern celebrities and pop culture:

  • Britney Spears โ†’ Beers ("Let's get a few Britneys")
  • Pete Tong โ†’ Wrong ("It's all gone Pete Tong") โ€” this one is so common that when things go wrong, Brits literally say "it's gone Pete Tong"
  • Calvin Klein โ†’ Fine ("I'm feeling Calvin")
  • Danny Glover โ†’ Lover (this one's a bit clunky but people use it)
  • Barack Obama โ†’ Pajamas ("Time to put on my Baracks")

The celebrity rhyme tradition keeps the slang alive and relevant. It's also deeply democratic โ€” anyone whose name rhymes with a common word can theoretically become part of the Cockney lexicon. You just need enough people to start using it.

Is Cockney Dying Out?

There's been a lot of hand-wringing about the death of Cockney. The traditional East End has changed enormously โ€” immigration, gentrification, and the dispersal of working-class communities have all chipped away at the old Cockney heartland. Recent surveys suggest that younger generations in London are less likely to use traditional rhyming slang.

But language doesn't die; it transforms. What's emerging in multicultural London today is Multicultural London English (MLE) โ€” a new dialect that blends Cockney with Caribbean, South Asian, and African influences. Words like "peng" (good/attractive), "wagwan" (what's going on), and "bare" (very/many) are the new London vernacular. It's not Cockney, but it's Cockney's direct descendant โ€” another creative, community-driven remix of the English language that would make any East End costermonger proud.

More Fun Language Stories

Chinese Learning

The 6 Mistakes Every English Speaker Makes When Learning Chinese

From ignoring tones to obsessing over grammar rules that don't matter, these are the traps that slow down almost every learner. Recognizing them early saves months of frustration.

Chinese Learning

How to Practice Chinese When You're Not in China

No immersion environment? No problem. You can build a surprisingly effective Chinese practice routine from anywhere โ€” here's how, with zero budget and no language partner required.

Language Fun

Raining Cats and Dogs and Other Linguistic Lunacies: Where English Idioms Actually Come From

Why do we 'kick the bucket' when we die? Why does 'letting the cat out of the bag' mean revealing a secret? The real origins of English idioms are often stranger than the phrases themselves.

โ† Back to All Articles