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Amazon.co.uk Review
The first reference to rhyming slang was in John Camden Hotten's The Slang Dictionary (1859) and it probably originated as an underworld code before developing into a form of word play that people found fun. They still do. Alongside the old favourites such as "dicky dirt" for shirt and "whistle and flute" for suit are plenty of Tony Blairs (flairs) Claire Rayners (trainers) Britney Spears (beers) and Steffi Graf (laugh). Language is in a continuous state of change and Ayto gives us some delightful obsolete expressions such as "apple pips" for lips or "bowl the hoop" for soup alongside some tasty current ones such as Duchess of York (pork) and Schindler's List (pissed).
Ayto gets really entertaining though when he when he gets into the euphemistic territory of body parts and functions. If you call someone a "berk" or "burk" and think that's quite mild just remember it derives from a rhyme with Berkley or Berkshire hunt. Whores have variously been called "boat and oar", "bolt the door" (graphically reduced to "old bolts"), "Doug McClure", "Roger Moore", "sloop of war" and "two by four". And ask yourself what "raspberry ripple" and "Christmas crackers" might rhyme with.
For word lovers the thematic sections of The Oxford Dictionary of Rhyming Slang is an enlightening browse with lots of historical titbits. --Susan Elkin --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Whether you're a complete beginner, or a real life Del Boy that wants to know where the rhymes originated from, this book is for you. The book is split into 27 categories like illness, animals, sport, and then into the appropriate sub-sections to make it even easier to find the rhyme you want. When you find the word you want to say as a rhyme, you can also find out when it was first said, and any other ways of saying it. There is also a handy index of the rhymes, so you can find out what a specific rhyme means, if you have heard it from something like Only Fools and Horses.
The reason I first bought this book was to improve my small knowledge of rhyming slang, but now I have read the book, it has made me think how cleverly made this unique language is. Many of the rhymes are highly amusing, so it's a perfect gift for someone, or get it for yourself and impress your mates by speaking another language in English.
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