<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div dir="ltr"> <b>WARNING: Ancient cryptic secrets are about to be unravelled!</b></div> <div dir="ltr"> <br /></div> <div dir="ltr"> Well, it could almost be considered a secret code. So consider yourself quite lucky that I'm sharing this with you!</div> <div dir="ltr"> <br /></div> <div dir="ltr"> Have you ever heard of "Rhyming Slang"? Well the idea originally came from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockney" target="_blank">Cockney</a>&nbsp;England, but considering the Poms sent a lot of their dodgy codgers to Australia in the early colonial days, we soon adopted the idea of rhyming slang. In fact, I reckon we perfected it (like most things we Aussies get our hands on!)</div> <div dir="ltr"> <br /></div> <div dir="ltr"> So what is it?</div> <div dir="ltr"> <br /></div> <div dir="ltr"> The idea was to take a word that you kinda wanted to disguise, or encode, and use a two-word phrase in its place that rhymed with it.</div> <div dir="ltr"> <br /></div> <div dir="ltr"> Clear as mud? Let me give you some examples with rhyming slang in place. See if you can guess what the phrase represents before you scroll down and check out the answers.</div> <div dir="ltr"> <br /></div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <ol style="text-align: left;"> <li>Can't watch the footy without a pie with <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">dead horse</span></i></b>.</li> <li>My missus did the <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Harry Holt</span></i></b> with the local plumber.</li> <li>I heard there was a prang up the road. Might go have a <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Captain Cook</span></i></b>.</li> <li>Get off the <span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><i>dog 'n' bone</i></b> </span>and mow the lawn!</li> <li>It's getting late cuz, I better hit the <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">frog 'n' toad</span></i></b>.</li> <li>Could I have a dozen roses for my beloved <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">trouble 'n' strife</span></i></b>?</li> <li>The <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">billy lids / tin lids</span></i></b> always give us grief at bed time!</li> <li>Woh, check out that paint job. Looks like the painter had a <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Barry Crocker</span></i></b> that day!</li> <li>We're heading to <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">steak 'n' kidney</span></i></b> at the crack of dawn.</li> <li>Don't bother telling me a <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">porky pie</span></i></b>, cos I'll find out!</li> </ol> <br /> <div dir="ltr"> <br /></div> <div dir="ltr"> How'd you go? Didn't sneak a Bo Peep did you? Well, are you ready for the answers?</div> <div dir="ltr"> <br /></div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <ol style="text-align: left;"> <li><b>Dead Horse</b> = (tomato) sauce</li> <li><b>Harry Holt</b> = bolt (i.e. to run away or disappear)</li> <li><b>Captain Cook</b> = look (for something, at something)</li> <li><b>Dog 'n' Bone</b> = telephone</li> <li><b>Frog 'n' Toad</b> = road</li> <li><b>Trouble 'n' Strife</b> = wife (gents, use this one at your own risk)</li> <li><b>Billy Lids / Tin Lids</b> = kids (children)</li> <li><b>Barry Crocker</b> = shocker (an unfortunate time, lack of success, bad luck)</li> <li><b>Steak 'n' Kidney</b> = Sydney</li> <li><b>Porky Pie</b> = lie (untruth, fib)</li> </ol> <br /> Reckon that's not too hard? Sorry to say, but it gets a bit trickier. Sometimes we'll drop the second word and turn the first word into a plural.<br /> <div dir="ltr"> <br /></div> <div dir="ltr"> Say what?</div> <div dir="ltr"> <br /></div> <div dir="ltr"> Check it out. Here are some new examples with rhyming slang in its short forms:</div> <div dir="ltr"> </div> <ul style="text-align: left;"> <li>I haven't seen Bill all day. Methinks he's done the <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Harrys</span></i></b>.</li> <li>Be blowed if I know where me keys are. Might have a <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Captains </span></i></b>in the dunny.</li> <li>Mitch is having a <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Barrys </span></i></b>today with his bowling.</li> <li>Yeah right, sounds like you're telling <b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">porkies </span></i></b>again.</li> </ul> <br /> <a href="http://www.fishpond.com.au/product_info.php?ref=1296&amp;id=9780143009115&amp;affiliate_banner_id=1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Australian Slang" border="0" src="http://www.fishpond.com.au/affiliate_show_banner.php?ref=1296&amp;affiliate_pbanner_id=12236959" /></a> I hope that made some kind of sense. Nobody said Aussie English was easy. But neither did they say it wasn't interesting! Don't you just love it?<br /> <br /> <div dir="ltr"> Well, I gotta do the Harry Holt and put the tin lids to bed!</div> <div dir="ltr"> <br /></div> <div dir="ltr"> G'night<br /> <br /></div> <hr /> <div dir="ltr"> <span style="color: yellow;"><b>Dodgy:</b> untrustworthy, unsafe, non-genuine</span></div> <div dir="ltr"> <span style="color: yellow;"><b>Codger:</b> fellow, guy, bloke</span></div> <div dir="ltr"> <span style="color: yellow;"><b>Clear as mud:</b> very unclear, doesn't make any sense</span></div> <div dir="ltr"> <span style="color: yellow;"><b>Footy:</b> football (usually rugby league or Aussie Rules football)</span></div> <div dir="ltr"> <span style="color: yellow;"><b>Prang:</b> a car crash</span></div> <div dir="ltr"> <span style="color: yellow;"><b>Cuz:</b> cousin</span></div> <div dir="ltr"> <span style="color: yellow;"><b>Crack of dawn:</b> the first light of dawn</span></div> <div dir="ltr"> <span style="color: yellow;"><b>Bo Peep:</b> a peek, a look at something</span></div> <div dir="ltr"> <span style="color: yellow;"><b>Fib:</b> a lie</span></div> <div dir="ltr"> <span style="color: yellow;"><b>Be blowed:</b> to be surprised by something (<i>Well I'll be blowed!</i>), to be baffled by something (<i>I'll be blowed if I know!</i>)</span></div> <div dir="ltr"> <span style="color: yellow;"><b>Dunny:</b> toilet</span></div> <div dir="ltr"> <br /></div> </div>