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?Years?, ?Phone? and ?Beers?
<B>The British Council?s language clinic with ?Dr Danny?</B>
Hello and welcome back to the English Language Clinic. This week I have a question for you. If five ?quid? is a ?lady?, five ?ladies? are a ?pony? and five ?ponies? are a ?monkey?, what are two ?monkeys?? The answer is a ?grand?; but what am I talking about? These terms are all slang expressions used in the United Kingdom to describe different amounts of money. ?Quid? is slang for one pound and a ?lady? is five pounds (this is an example of rhyming slang, the full name being a ?Lady Godiva?, which rhymes with ?fiver?). A ?pony? is slang for twenty five pounds; a ?monkey? is five hundred and, therefore, a ?grand? is one thousand.
There are a huge number of slang words and expressions used in British English. Some are understood by a large number of people, whilst some are very specific to a particular area or group of people. These include terms such as ?naff?, meaning ?useless or worthless?, ?banger?, meaning ?sausage? and ?yonks?, meaning ?a long time?.
Probably the most widely recognised form of British slang is ?Cockney Rhyming Slang?. This form originated in an area of London and some people believe that it was first used to confuse the police. Examples of Cockney Rhyming Slang include ?boat race? (face), ?apples and pairs? (stairs) and ?loaf of bread? (head). Can you work out what the following examples mean? I?ve lived here for ?donkey?s ears?; I was talking on the ?dog and bone?; I drank three ?Britney Spears? (the last one is my favourite!).Please send your comments, queries and questions to ?Dr Danny? by emailing the following address [email protected]
If you are interested in registering for an English Language or IELTS Preparation course, please contact us by calling 403 0200.
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