Skype English School

Rhyming slang has the effect of obscuring the meaning of what is said from outsiders. It isn't clear whether this is intentional, to hide one's meaning from the law, or to exclude outsiders, or whether it is just a form of group bonding. The way rhyming slang works does tend to exclude those not 'in the know', as the substitution of one word for another often relies on reference to a key phrase, which, for the slang to be understood, must be known jointly by those communicating. For example, to get from 'Hamsteads' to 'teeth', one must be aware of Hampstead Heath.

Rhyming slang is an exuberant linguistic form and tends to flourish in confident, outgoing communities. That's certainly true of Victorian England, which is where it originated. The earliest example of rhyming slang that we can find is in the English writer Edward Jerringham Wakefield's, Adventures in New Zealand, 1845, in which he includes an account of the journey from the UK to the Southern Hemisphere:

"The profound contempt which the whaler expresses for the 'lubber of a jimmy-grant', as he calls the emigrant."

 
The first to record rhyming slang in any systematic way were Ducange Anglicus, in 'The Vulgar Tongue. used in London from 1839 to 1859' and by John Camden Hotten in A Dictionary of Modern Slang in 1859
Anglicus includes these example, all dated 1857:
Apple and Pears, stairs.
Barnet-Fair, hair.
Bird-lime, time.
Lath-and-plaster, master.
Oats and chaff, footpath.
Hotten's book includes:
Bull and cow, a row.
Chevy Chase, the face.
 
There may have been many examples for dictionary makers to record by the 1850s but, like most slang, these were street level terms and not in general usage. Charles Dickens wrote an article on slang in 'Household Words' in 1853 and made no reference to rhyming slang.

Hotten was the first to apply the name 'rhyming slang' to the form, in his 1859 dictionary. The slang form wasn't known in the USA until late in the 19th century.

So far, I haven't mentioned 'Cockney', nor you might notice do any of the early citations above. That's because, although rhyming slang was associated with London, and particularly with London street traders, there never has been anything specifically Cockney about it. Rhyming slang didn't become Cockney Rhyming Slang until long after many of its examples had travelled world-wide. Cockney, according to the strict definition, refers to those born within the sound of Bow Bells. This is an area of London. Cockney Rhyming Slang is just shorthand for London or English rhyming slang. As a name, 'Cockney Rhyming Slang' is 20th century.

Rhyming slang has spread to many English-speaking countries, especially those that had strong maritime links with the UK in the 19th century, notably Australia, Ireland and Canada/USA. There's even less justification for the name these days than there was when it was coined. Many examples of Cockney Rhyming Slang clearly originate in other countries, although England, and specifically London, is still the major source. The spread can be shown by phrases that relate to people or places only well-known in a particular country, or ones where the rhyme depends on a regional or national accent.
Slang is used all over the world in many different forms. The most popular seems to be "Cockney Rhyming Slang" which is found in a number of movies and TV shows. It does however go both ways, I only recently got jokes when I rewatched friends. Living in England I didn't understand the slang that they had used but now I do.
Check out these movies for additional slang - any Guy Ritchie movie, I really like Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
Do you know any other movies or TV shows that feature slang?