Cockney rhyming slang is jam-packed with references to fruit, vegetables and other kinds of foods. This East London working-class slang, structured around a simple rhyming system, was the East Londoner’s language code which prevented bosses, the police and other authority figures from understanding what was being said.
Some of the most popular food-related cockney rhyming phrases include “apples and pears,” “bacon and eggs” and “custard and jelly.” Below, we’ve compiled a fairly extensive list of food rhymes and their East London meaning…
apples and pears
The phrase “apples and pears” rhymes with “stairs” and so is commonly used to refer to anything which might be going on above. You might say to someone, looking for an item they’ve lost, “It might be up the apples,” meaning it might be upstairs and therefore worth checking.
bacon and eggs
Bacon and eggs rhymes with legs and is used when you want to compliment a woman. You might say, “You’ve got a lovely pair of bacons,” meaning that she has a really good looking pair of legs.
custard and jelly
“Shall we watch a bit of custard?” might be a question someone would ask if they wanted to watch the television, as custard and jelly refers directly to the telly (television).
loaf of bread
If you’re ever told to, “use your loaf,” in the East End of London, it’s because you’re being told to “use your head” or to think/act smarter. “Head” rhymes with “bread,” and so the phrase is shortened from “use your loaf of bread (head)” to “use your loaf!”
mince pies
When a guy from the East End of London wants to chat up a lovely lady that he sets his eyes on, he might say, “You’ve got lovely mincies.” “Mince pies”, rhymes with “eyes” and… the conclusion to be drawn from the rest is quite clear.
peas in the pot
When you walk into a room and someone says, “It’s a bit peasy in here,” they mean that it’s a bit hot. “Peas in the pot” rhymes with “hot,” hence the use of the phrase, “peasy.”
plates of meat
“Plates of meat” rhymes with “feet.” You might hear someone say, “Be careful of me (my) plates,” if they’re frightened that someone else is about to stand on their feet.
potatoes in the mould
A shortened version of “potatoes” in the East End of London is the word “taters.” The phrase “potatoes (taters) in the mould” rhymes with “cold” and is used when someone is feeling a little nippy. You might hear someone say, “It’s a bit taters in here.”
rabbit and pork
If you happen to be spending a lot of time with someone who talks and talks and talks and never seems to want to just be quiet, you might want to say, “Wow! You can really rabbit, can’t you!” The phrase “rabbit and pork” rhymes with “talk” and is used to talk about the big chatterboxes in our lives.
tea leaf
“He’s a little tea leaf,” is used to accuse someone of being a “thief.”
As is made evident from the examples above, the parts of the rhymes which don’t actually match the sound of the word they are referring to is the word that is normally used in Cockney Rhyming Slang. For instance, in “bacon and eggs”, “eggs” rhymes with “legs”, but “bacon” is the part of the phrase which is used when you want to tell a woman she has a lovely pair of “bacons” (legs).
By opting for the section of the rhyme which doesn’t actually rhyme, the secret meaning of the phrase was kept even more of a secret amongst the working classes of East London. Secrecy to Cockney Rhymers means everything.
Cf. original: http://www.transpanish.biz/translation_blog/examples-cockney/
Tag: UK
Start your day with a coffee
Around the world in 31 Coffees
There’s always a booming industry everywhere, and the booming, most latest alternative that probably Angelina Jolie, Justin Bieber and all your favorite popular stars today are doing right now is: travelling just by coffee. Coffee-hopping! Tasting all the world’s coffee in the comfort of your home! Genius. Here’s its infographic.
Okay, fine. It’s different to actually travel the world. But maybe there’s also something to boast about the fact that you haven’t travelled. Perhaps we are in the age where we understand that the marketing gimmicks no longer work, especially those about how travel changes people, makes them cultured, informs them and makes them ideal citizens. But look at the worst criminals of the world. How many really of them can you say are regular home-buddies? Not much. They’re all travellers. Maybe it’s time to reconsider travelling. Maybe there’s beauty in the awareness that this room right now, this setting, this book you have, with a lady you love, perhaps this is the limit. And there’s comfort in that.
Read more at http://www.business2community.com/infographics/around-world-31-coffees-0824819#I8llKbXEUJJ18x8z.99
Cf. original: http://www.cheapflights.co.uk/news/around-world-31-coffees/
Semiotycs: il gioco-tool by Giuliano Pascali
Qualche mese fa ho fatto un “repost” relativo alle parole simili nelle lingue europee. L’articolo era accompagnato da una serie di mappe dell’Europa in cui venivano identificate le analogie e le differenze nell’utilizzo di alcuni termini specifici nei vari Paesi presenti.
[Cfr. https://onesectranslation.wordpress.com/2014/01/17/repost-la-mappa-delle-parole-simili-nelle-lingue-deuropa/]
Qualche giorno fa, invece, ho trovato un’email nella posta elettronica che richiedeva la mia attenzione. Il mittente era Giuliano Pascali. Informatico ed appassionato di lingue e materie umanistiche, mi ha informato di aver sviluppato un “gioco-tool” utilizzando proprio quelle mappe e, in cerca di un po’ di visibilità, mi ha domandato se fossi interessata a divulgare il suo progetto.
Così… eccolo qua! 🙂
http://www.semiotycs.com
Cliccando sul link vi ritroverete direttamente alla mappa delle parole.
Di seguito vi lascio la presentazione scritta da Giuliano.
Buona lettura!
La mappa delle parola in Europa
(semiotica comparata)Somiglianze e diversità delle lingue.
Ecco un sito che ci permette di indagare su come si dice una parola nelle principali lingue europee.
Scegli una parola e clicca traduci, in pochi istanti avrai la traduzione sulla mappa in più di dieci lingue.
E’ un gioco divertente che ci permette di indagare sulla diversità, la somiglianza e provenienza dei termini scelti. Alcune parole hanno una radice universale, e una traduzione molto simile. Altre invece sono completamente differenti a seconda del ceppo di appartenenza.
Sito delle lingue nella mappa
Il ceppo latino, francia, italia, spagna. Il ceppo slavo del centro est europa, il ceppo scandinavo e quello anglosassone della zona anglotedesca. Fantastico il caso della parola ananas che ha un tipo praticamente universale, fatta eccezzione per le due grandi storiche potenze coloniali, che curiosamente hanno un suono diverso da tutti le altre nazioni, ma simile tra loro. Che sia solo un caso ?
E’ bello osservare le contaminazioni, avvenute nella lingua per vicinanza geografica francia spagna italia, ragioni storiche e circostanze commerciali militari e marittime. L’inghilterra trova vicinanza linguistiche con i paesi del mare del nord, con la norvegia, mentre la finlandia risente notevolmente della presenza russa. La polonia pur geograficamente dislocata, rientra tra le lingue slave e ha suoni molto prossimi ai balcani. La romania invece che rimane in quella zona, ha un impronta latina e i suoi termini spesso risuonano come quelli dei paesi mediterranei.
La germania che a volte divide suoni con gli anglosassoni della gran bretagna, influenza la zona dell’olanda a sua volta della svezia. Le tre repubbliche baltiche denotano una forte identità anche linguistica, mentre il portogallo a volte svela tutto il suo legame con la spagna, fino al cinquecento erano un unica nazione, d’altro canto sorprende con suoni nuovi e bellissimi che raccontato la sua storia di grande potenza del mare, alternativa (anche come terre di interesse) a spagna e inghilterra. La turchia ponte tra l’europa l’oriente, porta con se un timbro linguistico del mondo arabo oltreuropeo. L’islanda senza dubbio terra di mare e del nord, mantiene non solo geograficamente la sua unicità. E che dire dell’italia ? Centro della lingua di origine latina, al centro del mediterraneo, con influenze arabe francesi spagnole normanne. Le lingue: affascinante dinamico contenitore della nostra esperienza e della nostra vita raccontano in maniera incantevole, segreti misteriosi o lampanti che nel corso dei secoli hanno raccolto e compreso.
Buon divertimento, buona esplorazione. Il gioco traduce in tutte le lingue ma anche da tutte le lingue, quindi se avete amici estoni francesi o polacchi beh ..buon divertimento anche a loro!
Vai a Semiotycs, il gioco delle lingue sulla mappa
Il gioco è ispirato a una serie di mappe etimologiche comparse su alcuni siti, segnaliamo http://www.linkiesta.it.Giuliano Pascali
London Grammar
La playlist in modalità shuffle mentre stai lavorando crea il giusto sottofondo musicale. Infatti, per rimanere in tema, non potevano mancare i London Grammar.
Enjoy the song!
Strong
Excuse me for a while
While I’m wide-eyed
And I’m so down caught in the middle
I’ve excused you for a while
While I’m wide-eyed
And I’m so down caught in the middle
And a lion, a lion roars would you not listen?
If a child, a child cries would you not forgive them?
Yeah, I might seem so strong
Yeah, I might speak so long
I’ve never been so wrong
Yeah, I might seem so strong
Yeah, I might speak so long
I’ve never been so wrong
Excuse me for a while,
Turn a blind eye
With a stare caught right in the middle
Have you wondered for a while
I have a feeling deep down
You’re caught in the middle?
If a lion, a lion roars would you not listen?
If a child, a child cries would you not forgive them?
Yeah, I might seem so strong
Yeah, I might speak so long
I’ve never been so wrong
Yeah, I might seem so strong
Yeah, I might speak so long
I’ve never been so wrong
Excuse me for a while
While I’m wide-eyed
And I’m so down caught in the middle
Have you wondered for a while
I have a feeling deep down?
You’re caught in the middle
Yeah, I might seem so strong
Yeah, I might speak so long
I’ve never been so wrong
Yeah, I might seem so strong
Yeah, I might speak so long
I’ve never been so wrong
#perlediunatraduttrice
FOOD TRANSLATION: UK vs USA
Busy week.
#translatorsgonnatranslate
Thank you MELTTraduzioni per la dritta sulla bravissima artista Gemma Correll. 😉
Repost: The benefits of being bilingual
The Benefits of Being Bilingual
http://www.englishschoolnyc.com/772638/2013/10/29/the-benefits-of-being-bilingual.html
[LAST UPDATED 3 MONTHS AGO]
Did you know that over half of the world’s population is bilingual? This statistic may come as less of a surprise if you consider that there are nearly 7,000 languages spoken around the world! Being bilingual offers a wealth of benefits, from better brain function to improved job prospects. If you live in a vibrant place like New York City, being bilingual can even make it easier for you to meet new people. If you are considering learning a second language as an adult, it’s important to enroll in language classes designed for adult learners and immerse yourself in the language. Once you become fluent, you can maintain and improve your language abilities by taking classes, watching movies, and conversing in your new language. To find out more about the benefits of bilingualism, check out this infographic from Bluedata International Institute, an ESL school in New York City. Please share this infographic with your friends and family who are also hoping to learn English or any other second language!
Quote of the day.
Travel is the only thing you buy
that makes you richer.
Karma.
The only assignment that has NO DEADLINE
is KARMA.
#perlediunatraduttrice
Have a break: The Offensive Translator [video]
The Offensive Translator*
*NB: actually, she’s not a translator, she is an interpreter. 😉
One Sec Translations di Chiara Bartolozzi 