that they a Scooby’ (Doo clue), drying themselves not with a towel but ‘haven’t – a (Cowell)’ before putting on their (pyjamas of course). ‘Simon ‘Baracks’ There are some indicators, though, that the fears for the future of rhyming ’s slang may be justified. It’s certainly the case that at the moment it isn’t at the forefront of cool. Members of the white working class, if that term still means anything van man’, taxi-drivers, builders and decorators, sparks and – ‘white chippies - may still invent new rhymes, but white working class pop culture is far from fashionable. Chavdom has given it a bad name and the heyday of the chic’ of gangster movies like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a ‘Geezer thing of the fast-receding past. The cliques who occupy the high ground of cool these days at least in their own minds, are the urban hipsters of Shoreditch and – Hackney, the patois-speaking street gangs and their imitators, Lady Gaga and Nicky Minaj fixated teens, and their gloomy EMO counterparts. These social groups all have one thing in common: they completely lack humour, and rhyming slang is of course above all a joke, a feature of a mind-set for which cheerful irony, back-and-forth banter and self-mockery are mainstays. Texting abbreviations, fashionista jargon and pseudo-afrocaribbean may be in ‘Jafaican’ the ascendant now but will make way for other language fads in due course. Maybe when and if the terminally hip and the genuinely pubescent grow up, stop posing and acquire a sense of fun, they too will embrace the enduring rhyming game.
that they ‘haven’t a Scooby’ (Doo – clue), drying themselves not with a towel but a ‘Simon (Cowell)’ before putting on their ‘Baracks’ (pyjamas of course). There are some indicators, though, that the ’s fears for the future of rhyming slang may be justified. It’s certainly the case that at the moment it isn’t at the forefront of cool. Members of the white working class, if that term still means anything – ‘white van man’, taxi-drivers, builders and decorators, sparks and chippies - may still invent new rhymes, but white working class pop culture is far from fashionable. Chavdom has given it a bad name and the heyday of the ‘Geezer chic’ of gangster movies like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a thing of the fast-receding past. The cliques who occupy the high ground of cool these days – at least in their own minds, are the urban hipsters of Shoreditch and Hackney, the patois-speaking street gangs and their imitators, Lady Gaga and Nicky Minaj fixated teens, and their gloomy EMO counterparts. These social groups all have one thing in common: they completely lack humour, and rhyming slang is of course above all a joke, a feature of a mind-set for which cheerful irony, back-and-forth banter and self-mockery are mainstays. Texting abbreviations, fashionista jargon and pseudo-afrocaribbean ‘Jafaican’ may be in the ascendant now but will make way for other language fads in due course. Maybe when and if the terminally hip and the genuinely pubescent grow up, stop posing and acquire a sense of fun, they too will embrace the enduring rhyming game.
RHYMING-SLANG.docx