Rhyming slang

BBC Learning EnglishLondon LifeRhyming slangCallum: Hello I'm Callum Robertson and this is London LifeIn the programme today we take a brief look at rhymingslang, an interestingform of vocabulary where an expression which rhymes withword you mean is used, for example, the phrase 'boat race'
　　– the boat race is a famous sporting event held in Londonbut the phrase 'boat race' is also rhyming slang¹ for'face'.
　　'Race' rhymes with 'face'.
　　One of the features of rhyming slang is that often the wordthat rhymes is not actually said. So for example 'boatrace' is shortened² to just 'boat'. 'She's got a prettyboat' means she's got a pretty face.
　　It's not unusual to hear rhyming slang expressions all overthe country but perhaps it's best known as Cockney rhymingslang. A cockney is someone who comes from a particularpart of east London, but what is rhyming slang andhow did it come about?
　　Here is a true cockney, Larry Barnes to explain. What doeshe say the word slang stands for and where does he say itcomes from.
　　LARRY BARNESRhyming slang was originally, well, s – lang, secretlanguage, which I was always taught as a youngster³, it wasthe secret language of the markets so that if a stallholderwanted to talk to astallholder on the opposite side of the street without thepunters in the middle knowing what he was talking abouthe'd use rhyming slang.
　　Callum: He says that slang stands for s – lang, secretlanguage and that it came from the markets. The people whowork on a market are the stallholders and if they wanted totalk to each other without the customers, or punters, as hecalls them understanding, they would use rhyming slang.
　　Listen againLARRY BARNESRhyming slang was originally, well, s – lang, secretlanguage, which I was always taught as a youngster, it wasthe secret language of the markets so that if a stallholderwanted to talk to a stallholder on the opposite side of thestreet without the punters in the middle knowing what hewas talking about he'd use rhyming slang.
　　Callum: He goes on to give an example of a sentence usingtraditional rhyming slang.
　　LARRY BARNESHe wouldn't say do you fancy a walk down the road to thepub for a quick pint⁴ of beer, he's say do you fancy a balldown the frog to the rubber for a quick pint of wallop.
　　Callum: Mmm, I think that needs a little translation!
　　First, let's hear the normal English sentence again.
　　LARRY BARNESHe wouldn't say do you fancy a walk down the road to thepub for a quick pint of beer,Callum: Do you fancy a walk down the road to the pub for aquick pint of beer? Now what about the rhyming slangversion?
　　LARRY BARNESDo you fancy a ball down the frog to the rubber for a quickpint of wallop,Callum: do you fancy a ball down the frog to the rubber fora quick pint of wallop. Let's translate that now!
　　Do you fancy – would you likeA ball – ball is the shortened form of the expression balland chalk, which is cockney rhyming slang for 'walk'.
　　Next down the frogFrog is the shortened form of frog and toad⁵ which isrhyming slang for 'road' Rub is rub a dub⁶ - pubThen we have a quick pint of wallop, wallop isn't rhymingslang but it is an old slang word for beer.
　　So putting that all together we have – Do you fancy a balldown to the frog for a quick pint of wallop!
　　A feature of rhyming slang is that it changes and develops.
　　A new book has been published which updates rhyming slang.
　　It's called 'Shame about the boat race' and Duncan Blackworks for its publisher Collins. He explains howcelebrities and characters from television have become partof rhyming slang and he mentions a number of celebrities⁷.
　　Britney Spears is one of them, what is her name rhymingslang for?
　　DUNCAN BLACKWell generally new slang terms tend to focus around popculture and celebrities. My personal favourites areBritneys, for Britney Spears, beers, Basil as in BasilFawlty, balti. Or Billie Piper as in Windscreen wiper.
　　Callum: Britney Spears – beers – so now you can say yougo down to the pub for a few Britneys. He also mentionedsome names from British TV, Basil Fawlty – rhyming slangfor the Indian food 'balti' and Billie Piper, slang forwindscreen wiper.
　　Because the slang is coming from celebrities who come andgo it means the language changes very quickly, but makingnew rhyming slang is very easy and is egalitarian.
　　Egalitarian means anyone can do it, it's not something thatonly specialists and experts can do. Duncan Black explainshow.
　　DUNCAN BLACKIt's very easy to use, it's egalitarian, anyone can have ago, you just need a name or something or someone whichrhymes with something.
　　Callum: Anyone can have a go, he says, anyone can try it,you just need a name which rhymes with something. So whynot have a go yourself, try an make a sentence in which youreplace the name of an object with the name of a celebritywhich rhymes.
　　That's all for today, I'm off to the Indian for a Basil andsome Britneys.

1 slang   

n.俚语，行话；vt.使用俚语，辱骂；vi.辱骂

参考例句：

• The phrase is labelled as slang in the dictionary.这个短语在这本字典里被注为俚语。
• Slang often goes in and out of fashion quickly.俚语往往很快风行起来又很快不再风行了。

2 shortened   

v.弄短，缩短( shorten的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She shortened the skirt by an inch. 她把裙子缩短了一英寸。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Vacations have lengthened and the work week has shortened. 假期延长，工作周就缩短了。 来自辞典例句

3 youngster   

n.儿童，少年，年轻人

参考例句：

• I rode the youngster on my back.我让小孩骑在背上。
• That youngster works with a will.这小伙子干活有股傻劲儿。

4 pint   

n.品脱

参考例句：

• I'll have a pint of beer and a packet of crisps, please.我要一品脱啤酒和一袋炸马铃薯片。
• In the old days you could get a pint of beer for a shilling.从前，花一先令就可以买到一品脱啤酒。

5 toad   

n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆

参考例句：

• Both the toad and frog are amphibian.蟾蜍和青蛙都是两栖动物。
• Many kinds of toad hibernate in winter.许多种蟾蜍在冬天都会冬眠。

6 dub   

vt.（以某种称号）授予，给...起绰号，复制

参考例句：

• I intend to use simultaneous recording to dub this film.我打算采用同期录音的方法为这部影片配音。
• It was dubbed into Spanish for Mexican audiences.它被译制成西班牙语以方便墨西哥观众观看。

7 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目