- China plate — mate. "Me old china"
- Boat race — face. Very well-attested, widely used
- Ruby Murray — curry. Named after a 1950s Irish singer, now so embedded "going for a ruby" is standard British English
- Syrup of figs — wig.
- Barney Rubble — trouble. Common enough to have crossed into general British usage
- Pete Tong — wrong. "Gone Pete Tong" is now national slang
- Not on your Nelly — a layered one: Nelly Duff = puff = breath = life. Worth knowing the full etymology
- Sherbet dab — cab. You'll hear this constantly in London
- Bacon and eggs — legs
- Orchestra stalls — balls
- Duck and dive — survive/skive
Cockney rhyming slang
Loaf • Trouble • Tea leaf • Brown bread • Rabbit • Cream crackered • Hank Marvin • Jam jar • Daisy roots • Adam and Eve • Rosy Lee • Dickie bird • Bubble bath • North and south
Body & Health
- Mince pies — eyes (you have this)
- North and south — mouth
- Plates of meat — feet (you have this)
- Hampstead Heath — teeth (you have this, spelled "Hampstead")
- Gregory Peck — neck
- Loaf of bread — head — "use your loaf"
- Mince pies — eyes
People & Relationships
- Trouble and strife — wife — "the trouble"
- Ball and chain — wife (less classic, more common now)
- Tea leaf — thief — "he's a right tea leaf"
- Brass tacks — facts — "let's get down to brass tacks"
- Adam and Eve — believe — "would you Adam and Eve it?"
Money & Numbers
- Lady Godiva — fiver (£5)
- Ayrton Senna — tenner (£10)
- Pony — £25 (not strictly rhyming slang but core Cockney money slang)
- Bag of sand — grand (£1000)
- Deep sea diver — fiver
Food & Drink
- Rosy Lee — tea — "fancy a Rosy?"
- Mother's ruin — gin (not rhyming slang but essential)
- Biscuits and cheese — knees
- Plates of meat — feet
Actions & States
- Brown bread — dead — "he's brown bread"
- Pen and ink — stink — "what a pen and ink"
- Plates of meat — feet
- Rabbit and pork — talk — "she don't half rabbit"
- Pig's ear — beer (you have this)
- Cream crackered — knackered (exhausted) — "I'm cream crackered"
- Hank Marvin — starving — "I'm Hank Marvin"
- Tom and Dick — sick
- Have a bubble (bath) — laugh — "are you having a bubble?"
Places & Objects
- Plates of meat — feet
- Jam jar — car
- Dickie bird — word — "not a dickie bird" (said nothing)
- Daisy roots — boots
- Mince pies — eyes
- Plates — feet (shortened)
- Ones and twos — shoes
- Knifeand fork — walk — less common but classic
Apple and pears - stairs
nuclear sub - pub
richard geres - beers
donkey’s ears - years - Donkeys
bees and honey - money
tit for tat - hat
Moriarty - party
Aristotle - bottle
Bo peep - sleep - “call for bo”
Cock and hen - Ten - “cockle” (ten pound note)
Dustbin lids - kids - “dustbins”
Elephants Trunk - Drunk
Brahms and List or Oliver Twist - pissed(drunk)
Frog and toad - road - “kermit”
Giraffe - laugh -
Turkish bath - laugh - “Turkish”
Hamstead Heath - teeth
Barnet Fair - hair
Ice cream freezer - geezer - “ice cream”
Julius Cezar, Lemon-Squeezer
Jockey’s whips - chips (fries)
Lilian Gish - fish
King Lears - ears
Rub a dub - pub
Quaker oat, weasel and stoat, billy goat- coat
Taters and mould - cold - “taters”
Uncle bert - shirt - “uncle”
uncle fred - bread
Uncle ned - bed
Auntie ella - umbrella
Auntie betty - belly
Vincent price - ice
Vera Lynn - gin
Whistle and flute - suit - “whistle”
Yarmouth bloater - motor
Dog and bone - telephone
Mince pies - eyes
Richard the third - turd
Bristol cities - titties
sky rocket = pocket
tin lids = kids
frog and toad = road
butchers hook = look
"I'm going for a jimmy riddle"
Dead horse = Tomato sauce
porky pies = telling lies
gloria gayners=trainers(also claire rayners)
Man hole cover (Brother) Skin and blister (Sister) Pigs ear (Beer) Plates of meat (Feet) Kettle and hobb (fob watch)
Miley Cyrus. (Virus). "Oh I've been in the bed with a bad Miley."
