Editing Rhyming slang (section)

== Development ==
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{{original research|section|date=December 2013}}
{{essay|section|date=January 2017}}
{{More citations needed section|date=July 2010}}
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Many examples of rhyming slang are based on locations in London, such as "[[Peckham Rye]]", meaning "[[necktie|tie]]",<ref name="Tibballs">{{cite book |last1=Tibballs |first1=Geoff |title=The Ultimate Cockney Geezer's Guide to Rhyming Slang |date=2008 |publisher=[[Ebury Press]] |isbn=978-0-09-192748-6}}</ref>{{rp|265}} which dates from the late nineteenth century; "[[Hampstead Heath]]", meaning "teeth"{{r|Tibballs|p=264}} (usually as "Hampsteads"), which was first recorded in 1887; and "barnet" ([[Barnet Fair]]), meaning "hair",{{r|Tibballs|p=231}} which dates from the 1850s.

In the 20th century, rhyming slang began to be based on the names of celebrities — [[Gregory Peck]] ([[neck]]; [[cheque]]),{{r|Tibballs|page=74}} [[Ruby Murray]] [as Ruby] ([[curry]]),{{r|Tibballs|p=159|q=A curry is often just referred to as a ‘Ruby’.}} [[Alan Whicker]] [as "Alan Whickers"] ([[knickers]]),{{r|Tibballs|page=3}} [[Puff Daddy]] (caddy),{{r|Tibballs|page=147}} [[Max Miller (comedian)|Max Miller]] ([[pillow]] [pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|i|l|ə}}]),{{citation needed|date=March 2020}} [[Meryl Streep]] (cheap),{{r|Tibballs|page=119}} [[Nat King Cole]] ("[[Benefits (social welfare)|dole]]"),{{r|Tibballs|page=221}} [[Britney Spears]] (beers, [[tears]]),{{r|Tibballs|page=27}} [[Henry Hall (bandleader)|Henry Halls]] ([[testicles|balls]]){{r|Tibballs|page=82}} — and after pop culture references — [[Captain Kirk]] (work),{{r|Tibballs|page=33}} [[Pop Goes the Weasel]] ([[diesel fuel|diesel]]),{{r|Tibballs|page=146}} [[Mona Lisa]] ([[pizza]]),{{r|Tibballs|page=122}} [[Mickey Mouse]] ([[Scouse]]),{{r|Tibballs|page=120}} [[Wallace and Gromit]] (vomit),{{r|Tibballs|page=195}} [[The Brady Bunch|Brady Bunch]] (lunch),{{r|Tibballs|page=25}} [[Bugs Bunny]] (money),{{r|Tibballs|page=29}} [[Scooby-Doo]] (clue),{{r|Tibballs|page=164}} [[Winnie the Pooh]] (shoe),{{r|Tibballs|page=199}} and ''[[Schindler's List]]'' ([[drunk|pissed]]).{{r|Tibballs|pages=163–164}} Some words have numerous definitions, such as dead (''[[Father Ted]]'', "gone to bed", [[brown bread]]),{{r|Tibballs|page=220}} [[door]] ([[Roger Moore]], [[Andrea Corr]], [[George Bernard Shaw]], [[Rory O'Moore]]),{{r|Tibballs|page=221}} [[cocaine]] ([[Kurt Cobain]]; [as "Charlie"] [[Bob Marley]], [[Boutros Boutros-Ghali]], [[Gianluca Vialli]], [[oat]]s and [[barley]]; [as "line"] [[Patsy Cline]]; [as "powder"] [[Niki Lauda]]),{{r|Tibballs|page=218}} [[Flared trousers|flares]] ("[[Lionel Blair]]s", "[[Tony Blair]]s", "[[Rupert Bear]]s", "[[Dan Dare]]s"),{{r|Tibballs|page=225}} etc.

Many examples have passed into common usage. Some substitutions have become relatively widespread in England in their contracted form. "To have a butcher's", meaning to have a look, originates from "butcher's hook", an S-shaped hook used by butchers to hang up meat, and dates from the late nineteenth century but has existed independently in general use from around the 1930s simply as "butchers".{{r|Tibballs|page=30|q=The double-ended hook used by butchers for hanging up sides of meat entered rhyming slang in the late nineteenth century and has earned such acceptance that it has been shortened to ‘butcher's’ since the late 1930s.}} Similarly, "use your loaf", meaning "use your head", derives from "loaf of bread" and also dates from the late nineteenth century but came into independent use in the 1930s.<ref name="ayto" />{{page needed|date=January 2017}}

Conversely usages have lapsed, or been usurped ("Hounslow Heath" for teeth, was replaced by "Hampsteads" from the heath of the same name, starting {{circa|1887}}).<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|publisher=Hampstead Heath|title=Dictionary of Rhyming Slang|first=Julian|last=Franklyn|page=74}}</ref>

In some cases, [[False etymology|false etymologies]] exist. For example, the term "barney" has been used to mean an altercation or fight since the late nineteenth century, although without a clear derivation.<ref name="barney">{{harvnb|Partridge|1961|p=52|loc=barney}}</ref> In the 2001 feature film ''[[Ocean's Eleven]]'', the explanation for the term is that it derives from [[Barney Rubble]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Levy|first=Glen|title=Top 10 Worst Fake British Accents|url=https://entertainment.time.com/2011/08/22/top-10-worst-fake-british-accents/slide/don-cheadle-oceans-eleven-twelve-thirteen-2001-2007/|publisher=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=19 August 2011|access-date=7 December 2019}}</ref> the name of a cartoon character from the ''[[The Flintstones|Flintstones]]'' television program many decades later in origin.{{r|Tibballs|page=14|q=Barney Rubble – trouble. [Although the meaning is similar, neither is there any connection between Fred Flintstone's pal and the long-standing ‘barney’ meaning a fight.]}}<ref name="barney" />

=== Regional and international variations ===
Rhyming slang is used mainly in London in England but can, to some degree, be understood across the country. Some constructions, however, rely on particular regional accents for the rhymes to work. For instance, the term "[[Charing Cross]]" (a place in London), used to mean "horse" since the mid-nineteenth century,<ref name="ayto" />{{page needed|date=January 2017}} does not work for a speaker without the [[lot–cloth split]], common in London at that time but not nowadays. A similar example is "Joanna" meaning "piano", which is based on the pronunciation of "piano" as "pianna" {{IPAc-en|p|i|ˈ|æ|n|ə}}.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} Unique formations also exist in other parts of the United Kingdom, such as in the [[East Midlands]], where the local accent has formed "Derby Road", which rhymes with "cold".{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}

Outside England, rhyming slang is used in many English-speaking countries in the [[Commonwealth of Nations]], with local variations. For example, in Australian slang, the term for an English person is "[[Alternative words for British#Pommy|pommy]]", which has been proposed as a rhyme on "pomegranate", pronounced "Pummy Grant", which rhymed with "immigrant".<ref>The ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]''{{clarify|date=January 2017}} cites a well-known Australian weekly, ''[[The Bulletin (Australian periodical)|The Bulletin]]'', which on 14 November 1912 reported: "The other day a Pummy Grant (assisted immigrant) was handed a bridle and told to catch a horse." See {{cite OED|pomegranate}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Partridge|1961|p=342}}</ref>

Rhyming slang is continually evolving, and new phrases are introduced all the time; new personalities replace old ones—pop culture introduces new words—as in "I haven't a Scooby" (from [[Scooby-Doo (character)|Scooby Doo]], the eponymous cartoon dog of the [[Scooby-Doo|cartoon series]]) meaning "I haven't a clue".<ref>{{cite OED|Scooby}}: “1990s; earliest use found in the ''Glasgow Herald''. Short for ScoobyDoo, the name of a cartoon dog which features in several U.S. television series and films (which typically include the name of the dog in the title), as rhyming slang for clue.”</ref>

=== Taboo terms ===
Rhyming slang is often used as a substitute for words regarded as taboo, often to the extent that the association with the taboo word becomes unknown over time. "[[wikt:berk|Berk]]" (often used to mean "foolish person") originates from the most famous of all [[fox hunting|fox hunts]], the  "[[Berkeley Hunt]]" meaning "cunt"; "[[A load of old cobblers|cobblers]]" (often used in the context "what you said is rubbish") originates from "[[Stitching awl|cobbler's awls]]", meaning "balls" (as in testicles); and "hampton" (usually "'ampton") meaning "prick" (as in penis) originates from "[[Hampton Wick]]" (a place in London) – the second part "wick" also entered common usage as "he gets on my wick" (he is an annoying person).{{r|Franklyn|p=74}}

Lesser taboo terms include "[[Trap (carriage)|pony and trap]]" for "crap" (as in defecate, but often used to denote nonsense or low quality); to blow a [[Blowing a raspberry|raspberry]] (rude sound of derision) from raspberry tart for "fart"; "[[D'Oyly Carte Opera Company|D'Oyly Carte]]" (an opera company) for "fart"; "[[Jimmy Riddle]]" (an American country musician) for "piddle" (as in [[urinate]]), "[[J. Arthur Rank]]" (a film mogul), "[[M4 Sherman|Sherman tank]]", "[[Jodrell Bank]]" or "[[Ham hock|ham shank]]" for "[[wank (sexual act)|wank]]", "[[Bristol City Football Club|Bristol Cities]]" (contracted to 'Bristols') for "titties", etc. "Taking the Mick" or "taking the Mickey" is thought to be a rhyming slang form of "[[taking the piss]]", where "Mick" came from "Mickey Bliss".<ref>{{cite AV media |people= BBC Staff; Styles, Tania & Gilliver, Peter [''OED''] |date= 9 January 2009 |title= ''Balderdash and Piffle'': Who Were They?—Tricky Verdicts |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/programmes/wordhunt/whoweretheyextras.shtml |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090109062814/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/programmes/wordhunt/whoweretheyextras.shtml |archive-date= 9 January 2009 |publisher= BBC }}</ref>

In December 2004 [[Joe Pasquale]], winner of the fourth series of [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]'s ''[[I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!]]'', became well known for his frequent use of the term "Jacobs", for [[Jacob's]] Cream Crackers, a rhyming slang term for knackers i.e. [[testicles]].