Er, I'm struggling to see how an article on Cockney rhyme slang can fail to focus on [East London]? the home of Cockney?s born within the sound of [Bow Bells]?... But I am being slightly disingenuous. Rhyming slang has indeed taken on a global context, but probably would be better dealt with under, say, [Rhyming slang]?, crosslinked to CRS. sjc
I disagree, mainly because it has spread across the world, and is generally referred to as "cockney rhyming slang". Examine Bryson - Mother Tongue, and Crystal (cited above). It is not called simply "rhyming slang", it is always referred to as "Cockney rhyming slang". Rhyming Slang is quite different - to call a "beer" an "ear" is rhyming slang, to call a beer a "bullock" is CRS (as in "bullock and steer"). Whether the expression itself is used in Cockney territory is not the point, CRS also refers to a style of linguistic usage. It's definitely used and referred to as such in Oz and NZ. I've been aware of CRS since I was a child, and long before I was even aware what "cockney" actually referred to. I doubt Americans would recognise the term as such, but nonetheless the books I have read on the topic clearly identified its heritage. That's all :) - MMGB
V. persuasive, Manning, I don't have any particular problem with that approach. sjc