CR5 Issue 171 August 2019
A local independent community magazine delivered free to 11,800 homes every month in the CR5 postcode. Contains local business advertising, interesting reads, Competitions, What's on in the Community and Puzzles.
A local independent community magazine delivered free to 11,800 homes every month in the CR5 postcode.
Contains local business advertising, interesting reads, Competitions, What's on in the Community and Puzzles.
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No job is too<br />
big or too<br />
A less fanciful explanation<br />
emerges from the filthy streets<br />
of seventeenth century Britain,<br />
when a heavy rainstorm might<br />
occasionally cause dead animals<br />
to wash out of the drains.<br />
Why are we so attached to these<br />
odd (and often illogical) sayings?<br />
Maybe it’s because the English<br />
language has been influenced by<br />
the presence of so many foreign<br />
invaders. The Romans, the<br />
Anglo-Saxons, the Vikings and<br />
the Norman French have all left<br />
their mark on our language, so<br />
it’s possible that our ancestors<br />
reinforced their sense of identity<br />
by using expressions that were<br />
unique to their communities.<br />
Another use for idioms is to<br />
succinctly express an idea when<br />
no single word exists to do the<br />
job. When someone is accused<br />
of being “in the doghouse” we<br />
know in just three words that<br />
the person is not just in disgrace:<br />
they have behaved so badly<br />
that they deserve the lowest<br />
possible status in the household<br />
– banished to sleep in a drafty<br />
kennel with the dog.<br />
Some of today’s most<br />
commonly-used idioms hark back<br />
to working practices that are<br />
now obsolete. Someone working<br />
on a sailing ship might literally<br />
“show someone the ropes” so<br />
they would know which sail to<br />
hoist, but that useful phrase<br />
gradually spilled out into wider<br />
society and “showing the<br />
ropes” became the shorthand<br />
for introducing someone to a<br />
specific job, task or activity.<br />
Given that most of these terms<br />
are archaic, outdated and<br />
obscure, it’s surprising that<br />
we continue to use them so<br />
enthusiastically today. Idioms<br />
may continue to baffle students<br />
of English, but there’s no doubt<br />
they help to give our speech its<br />
unique character and vitality.<br />
By Kate McClelland<br />
Here is a list of well-known (to<br />
Londoners) examples of Cockney<br />
rhyming slang.<br />
Adam and Eve — believe<br />
apples and pears — stairs<br />
ball of chalk — walk<br />
barnet (Barnet Fair) — hair<br />
Barney Rubble — trouble<br />
bees and honey — money<br />
boat race — face<br />
boracic (boracic lint) — skint<br />
brown bread — dead<br />
bubble ( bubble bath) — laugh<br />
butcher’s (butcher’s hook) — look<br />
Cadbury’s Flake — mistake<br />
china (china plate) — mate<br />
city slickers — knickers<br />
cream-crackered — knackered<br />
currant bun — sun<br />
daisy roots - boots<br />
dog and bone — phone<br />
dog’s meat — feet<br />
Duke of Kent — rent<br />
dustbin lid — kid<br />
fireman’s hose - nose<br />
frog and toad — road<br />
Gregory Peck — neck<br />
half-inch — pinch (steal)<br />
Hampsteads (Hampstead Heath -<br />
teeth<br />
Hank Marvin — starving<br />
Irish jig — wig<br />
jam-jar — car<br />
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