Of+Cockneys
121dutch — ► NOUN (usu. one s old dutch) Brit. informal ▪ (among cockneys) one s wife. ORIGIN abbreviation of DUCHESS(Cf. ↑duchess) …
122cocker — A variant of ‘cock’ and ‘cocky’, used as a friendly term of address mainly by London Cockneys. An example of its use between men occurs in Thirteen Days, by Ian Jefferies …
123cocky — A diminutive of ‘cock’, used as an endearment or friendly term of address. The Oxford English Dictionary cites vocative usage in William Congreve’s The Old Bachelor (1687): ‘Nay, look you now, if she does not weep; ‘tis the fondest fool! Nay,… …
124gal — A variant of ‘girl’, in use since the early nineteenth century, when it was used by London Cockneys. It was later taken up by the upper classes, sometimes in the form ‘gel’. Thackeray was probably typical of many nineteenth century writers in… …
125governor — Probably the most frequent use of this term is in various parts of Britain, where working class men use it to address another man, usually one who is unknown to them. In his book The Cockney, Julian Franklyn writes: ‘Guv’ner’, generally so… …
126cockneyism — [käk′nē iz΄əm] n. an idiom, pronunciation, quality, etc. characteristic of cockneys …
127rhyming slang — n. a form of language play, esp. as used by cockneys, in which a phrase is substituted for a single word with which the last word of the phrase rhymes (Ex.: trouble and strife used for wife, apples and pears for stairs) …
128Cockney — n. & adj. n. (pl. eys) 1 a a native of East London, esp. one born within hearing of Bow Bells. b the dialect or accent typical of this area. 2 Austral. a young snapper fish, Chrysophrys auratus. adj. of or characteristic of cockneys or their… …
