Cockney Rhyming Slang Translator

Pop "I can't believe you told lies to my wife about the money" into this Cockney rhyming slang translator and out comes "I can't Adam and Eve you told porkies to me trouble and strife about the bread and honey." That's four swaps in one line, which any East End nan would call showing off.

It runs backwards too. Paste in "Fancy a Ruby down the rub-a-dub?" and you'll get "Fancy a curry down the pub?" Handy if a mate from Bow just texted you something baffling and you'd rather not admit it.

What Is Cockney Rhyming Slang?

It's swapping a word for a little phrase that rhymes with it, ideally with a straight face. Stairs? Apples and pears. Phone? Dog and bone, which is why a Londoner might say they're "on the dog" while you stand there picturing a terrier.

Then comes the sneaky bit. Londoners often drop the half that rhymes, which is why "have a butcher's" means have a look (butcher's hook) and "use your loaf" means use your head (loaf of bread), and why outsiders end up totally lost.

It grew up in the East End around the middle of the 1800s. Why? Nobody agrees. Some say market traders used it to talk past customers, some say it kept the police guessing, and some reckon it was just a game that stuck. The rhyming slang page on Wikipedia lays out the theories if you fancy a proper read.

Cockney Rhyming Slang List

Here's the cheat sheet I'd hand a mate before a night out in Whitechapel. The left side is what you'll hear. The right side is what they mean.

Rhyming slang	Means
Apples and pears	Stairs
Dog and bone	Phone
Plates of meat	Feet
Loaf of bread	Head
Barnet Fair	Hair
Hampstead Heath	Teeth
Boat race	Face
Butcher's hook	Look
Trouble and strife	Wife
Old pot and pan	Old man (husband or dad)
Rub-a-dub	Pub
Pig's ear	Beer
Rosie Lee	Tea
Ruby Murray	Curry
Kettle and hob	Watch (from fob)
Pork pies	Lies
China plate	Mate
Treacle tart	Sweetheart

Cockney Slang for Money

Money itself is bread and honey, usually cut to just bread. A fiver is a Lady Godiva. A tenner became an Ayrton Senna sometime after the racing driver got famous, which shows the slang still picks up new names.

Pony (£25) and monkey (£500) get lumped in with all this, but they don't rhyme with anything. Where they came from is a bit of a mystery, and I quite like that they've kept their secret.

How Does It Work?

An AI does the swapping, but I kept it on a short lead. It gets a list of real, well-known rhymes and a firm rule not to make up new ones, because a fake rhyme is the quickest way to get laughed out of a London boozer.

I also told it to go easy on the accent. You won't get every h dropped or "guv'nor" in every line. Just a "me" for "my" here and an "innit" there.

Want modern London talk instead? The British Slang Translator covers words like knackered and gutted. And yes, Aussies have rhyming slang of their own, so try the Australian Slang Translator too.

Features at a Glance

Feature	Details
Price	Free
Signup	None
Direction	English to Cockney and Cockney to English
Engine	AI with a fixed list of real rhymes
Limit	800 characters per go

From Plain English to Proper Cockney

Step 1: Whatever you've got goes in the left box. A boring text works, so does a baffling voice note your uncle sent from Bethnal Green.

Step 2: Hit Translate, then count to two, maybe three if the Wi-Fi's being a pain.

Step 3: Out loud is the real test. If a rhyme makes you wince, it's gone.

Step 4: What's left gets copied into the group chat, where somebody will ask what a butcher's has to do with anything.

Example Conversions

• Come up the stairs and have a look at my new suit. → Come up the apples and have a butcher's at my new whistle and flute.
• My friend, use your head and pick up the phone. → Me china, use your loaf and pick up the dog.
• Let's get a beer at the pub and a curry after. → Let's grab a pig's ear at the rub-a-dub and a Ruby after.

Common Questions

What does treacle mean in Cockney? Sweetheart. It's treacle tart with the tart lopped off, and "alright, treacle?" is what a stall holder on Roman Road might call you while bagging your spuds.

What does "have a butcher's" mean? Have a look. Butcher's hook, look. The hook fell off decades back and nobody went looking for it.

Who counts as a real Cockney? Strictly? Born within earshot of Bow Bells, the bells at St Mary-le-Bow on Cheapside. Fat chance hearing them over a bin lorry these days, so most folk just go by the East End and the accent.

Can it turn Cockney back into English? Yep, chuck the slang in and plain words come back. Handy for your nan's voice notes.

Does it cost me a Lady Godiva? Not a penny, and nobody's after your email either.

Why did I get a slightly different line this time? Dice, basically. The model rolls a bit on which rhyme to grab, so friend might come out as china on one go and plain old mate on the next.

Before You Try It on a Real Londoner

Go easy. Six rhymes crammed into one sentence and you'll sound like a tourist mug on a Jack the Ripper walk. One or two lands better, and there's a stack of other daft voices over on the translators page.