How it works
This Cockney translator swaps plain words for London rhyming slang: stairs becomes apples and pears, phone becomes dog and bone, feet becomes plates of meat. Every rhyme is in a dictionary list, and each note shows what it rhymes with.
Read the full guide
Full rhymes, then as they are said
The large card writes the whole rhyme: a look becomes a butcher's hook and hair becomes Barnet Fair. As said cuts a rhyme short where the dictionary prints the short form, so the same words give a butcher's and barnet, with the rhyming half left off.
Slang back to plain words
Swap reads rhyming slang back: dog and bone returns as phone. Short forms such as loaf, china and rabbit are also plain English words, so check those by eye.
- Body, clothes and home words convert best: head, hair, feet, hat, suit, stairs, phone.
- Rude rhymes, rhymes about drink and rhymes on a real person's name are left out.
Questions and answers
Is this a Cockney accent translator?
No. An accent is a sound, and a page cannot write one. This page swaps words for rhyming slang.
How does Cockney rhyming slang work?
A word is replaced by a phrase that rhymes with it, and the rhyming part is then often dropped. Head becomes loaf of bread and then just loaf. Hair becomes Barnet Fair and then barnet.
Why are some well-known rhymes missing?
Many rhymes are rude, about drink, about groups of people or built on a real person's name. Children use this site, so those are left out, and so is any rhyme the dictionary pages do not give.