Cockney rhyming slang

English

Examples
mate → china plate → china feet → plates of meat → plates

Noun

Cockney rhyming slang (uncountable)

1. A cant used by Cockneys in which a word or phrase is replaced by a rhyming word or phrase, this word or phrase then often being abbreviated to its first syllable or syllables, or its first word. The word chosen as the rhyme often shares attributes of the word that it replaces.

See also

• Australian rhyming slang
• Appendix:Cockney rhyming slang (list)

Further reading

• Dictionary of Cockney rhyming slang