Biggles of 266
1st Level Red Feather
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2001
- Messages
- 1,126
- Points
- 36
When thirsty Australians peel on a fresh pair of Reg Grundys and head to the rubbity-dub for a few Britneys, they are bringing a contemporary twist to a tradition Sydneysiders inherited from cockney London.
For those used to clear speech, rhyming slang is the substitution of a term with a phrase that rhymes, preferably a famous name. To make matters more oblique, rhyming slangers like to drop the part of a name that does the rhyming. Thus, the slang for beer is "Britney", rather than "Spears".
The rejuvenation of the form is represented in the latest Oxford Dictionary of Rhyming Slang, to be published tomorrow. Among 3,000 entries, Britain's former foreign secretary Douglas Hurd pops up to replace Richard III as the synonym for an unmentionable bodily by-product.
But in Australia the Macquarie Book of Slang holds just 150 rhyming terms, including "Captain Cook" for look.
Most are evergreens of bygone eras. "I try to add as many as I can, but it's really to preserve them for posterity's sake," said James Lambert, the book's editor. "Most of the time I have never heard them [used].
"Like the slang for cash - 'Oscar Ash'. He's an Australian actor from years ago; completely unknown to most people. But obscure is what people like about rhyming slang: the pleasure is in having to explain it."
Australian poets, proudly provincial as many have been, were too precious to give the tradition of rhyming slang much of a Captain Cook, said poetry scholar Christopher Pollnitz.
"The last Australian poet to embrace it was C.J. Dennis, with The Songs of The Sentimental Bloke [1915]," said Dr Pollnitz, senior lecturer in English at the University of Newcastle.
I'm too scared of Noah's to go surfing, and there's a Joe Blake in my garden right now.
For those used to clear speech, rhyming slang is the substitution of a term with a phrase that rhymes, preferably a famous name. To make matters more oblique, rhyming slangers like to drop the part of a name that does the rhyming. Thus, the slang for beer is "Britney", rather than "Spears".
The rejuvenation of the form is represented in the latest Oxford Dictionary of Rhyming Slang, to be published tomorrow. Among 3,000 entries, Britain's former foreign secretary Douglas Hurd pops up to replace Richard III as the synonym for an unmentionable bodily by-product.
But in Australia the Macquarie Book of Slang holds just 150 rhyming terms, including "Captain Cook" for look.
Most are evergreens of bygone eras. "I try to add as many as I can, but it's really to preserve them for posterity's sake," said James Lambert, the book's editor. "Most of the time I have never heard them [used].
"Like the slang for cash - 'Oscar Ash'. He's an Australian actor from years ago; completely unknown to most people. But obscure is what people like about rhyming slang: the pleasure is in having to explain it."
Australian poets, proudly provincial as many have been, were too precious to give the tradition of rhyming slang much of a Captain Cook, said poetry scholar Christopher Pollnitz.
"The last Australian poet to embrace it was C.J. Dennis, with The Songs of The Sentimental Bloke [1915]," said Dr Pollnitz, senior lecturer in English at the University of Newcastle.
I'm too scared of Noah's to go surfing, and there's a Joe Blake in my garden right now.
