Rhyming Slang 押韻俚語(yǔ)
Rhyming Slang 押韻俚語(yǔ)
Recently I was confused about the phrase rhyming slang which I got from a comic in a newspaper. I've looked it up and known its meaning 同韻俚語(yǔ), grasshopper means copper, for example. Could you please give me some further explanations and samples? Thanks.
Best wishes, Cocoa from Guangzhou China
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This week's question is asking about rhyming slang. This is an informal way of speaking English that dates back a few hundred years.
It originated in the East End of London and was known as Cockney rhyming slang. It was possibly developed to hide meaning from the police. The language has evolved and spread to other English speaking countries.
Fancy this weasel and stoat?
As the name suggests, rhyming slang is about using one or two unrelated words, one of which rhymes with the word you actually want to say. To make it more complicated, the unrelated word that doesn't rhyme tends to get used. For example, butcher's hook means look but people just say butcher's!
Rob and Fei Fei explain other rhyming slang phrases in Question and Answer of the Week.
If you have a question for our team, send it to us at questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk and we might answer it on this programme.
