Rhyming slang all cases, omitting, from the end of the phrase, the secondary rhyming word (which is thereafter implied), making the origin and meaning of the phrase elusive to listeners not in the know. The form that is followed is made clear with the following example. The rhyming phrase "apples and pears" evolved to mean "stairs". Following the pattern of omission, "and pears" is dropped, thus the spoken phrase "I'm going up the apples" means "I'm going up the stairs". The following are further common examples of these phrases: Thus a construction of the following type could conceivably arise: "It nearly knocked
Wot Cher! Knocked 'em in the Old Kent Road horse rides in London. A "cove" is a low-class fellow. A "Dutch" is a wife, being cockney rhyming slang for "Duchess of Fife" which rhymes with "wife". She says "I 'ates a Bus because it's low!", in order to tease her lodger, meaning she now considers the bus to be low-class and beneath her. Last week down our alley came a toff<br> Nice old geezer with a nasty cough.<br> Sees my missus, takes his topper off<br> In a very gentlemanly way!<br> "Ma'am" says he, "I 'ave some news to tell,<br> Your rich uncle Tom of Camberwell,<br> Popp'd off recent, which