Anyone for a pig’s ear? London cockney rhyming slang to learn this International Beer Day

Let’s go down to the rub-a-dub for a cow’s half
There are numerous Cockney rhyming slang phrases that are all about beer
PA Wire
Beril Naz Hassan3 August 2023

Every year, on the first Friday of August, many adults come together to celebrate the refreshing drink that is beer.

And while the beloved beverage has refreshed people across the globe throughout history, some could argue that a pint of beer at a local pub is one of the most quintessentially British things one can do.

To celebrate, language learning app Babbel has put together a list of booze-related slang from across the UK.

In London, there are numerous Cockney rhyming slang phrases that are all about beer. Here is a look at some of those traditional phrases that you can use for this year’s International Beer Day.

London Cockney rhyming slang about beer

For something to be an acceptable rhyming slang, it needs to actually rhyme with the original word. That’s why “pig’s ear” and “King Lear” are two of the most popular words for beer.

When ordering half a pint of beer, you can use the phrase “cow’s half” and, once it gets you pissed, aka drunk, you can refer to the state you’re in as “Brahms and Liszt” or “elephant’s trunk”.

There are multiple slang phrases for the pub, but some of the most popular ones are “rub-a-dub” and “nuclear sub”.

London Cockney rhyming slang for other alcoholic beverages

There is a Cockney rhyming slang word for every drink you can think of. Wine, for instance, is Calvin Klein, and a “gold watch” is a Scotch.

When ordering gin and tonic, you can say “philharmonic”, for rum, “Tom thumb”, and for gin, “Vera Lynn”.

What is rhyming slang?

Rhyming slang is idioms traditionally used by Cockneys who were born within hearing of the Bow Bells of the East End of London.

It sees the speaker exchange a word with a phrase of two or more words that rhymes with the original.

There is Cockney rhyming slang for nearly everything. “Apples and pairs” refers to “stairs”, and “loaf of bread” refers to “head”, for instance.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in