The Cockney Alphabet is a recital of the English alphabet intended to parody the way the alphabet is taught to small working class children. The ostensible humour comes from forming unexpected words and phrases from the names of the various letters of the alphabet, mocking the way people from East London speak. Cockney is a name given to the working class of East London by the middle and upper classes.[1][2]
Naming a dog "Deefer" (as was common in the '50s[citation needed]) is an example of the reverse of this phenomenon, based on interpreting the line D for dog in an everyday alphabet verse as "deefer dog". "Ceefer" as a name for a cat also appeared in Australia after the Second World War (C for cat) influenced by returning servicemen from England who had been exposed to the humour of the Cockney Alphabet.
Notesedit
^"The definitive Cockney Alphabet". The Sydney Morning Herald. 15 January 2005.
^"Verbal frolics". Times Higher Education. 13 November 1998.
October 27, 2023
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The Cockney Alphabet is a recital of the English alphabet intended to parody the way the alphabet is taught to small working class children The ostensible humour comes from forming unexpected words and phrases from the names of the various letters of the alphabet mocking the way people from East London speak Cockney is a name given to the working class of East London by the middle and upper classes 1 2 Clapham and Dwyer version edit A Surrealist Alphabet nbsp Song by Clapham and DwyerA side A Spot of Fishing Released1936GenreComedyLabelColumbiaSongwriter s Clapham and DwyerIn 1936 the comedy double act Clapham and Dwyer recorded the following version entitled A Surrealist Alphabet A for orses hay for horses B for mutton beef or mutton C for th highlanders Seaforth Highlanders D for ential deferential E for Adam Eve or Adam F for vescence effervescence G for police chief of police H for respect age for respect I for Novello Ivor Novello J for oranges Jaffa oranges K for ancis Kay Francis or K for undressing L for leather Hell for leather M for sis emphasis N for adig in for a dig or infra dig O for the garden wall over the garden wall P for a penny pee for a penny Q for a song cue for a song or Q for billiards cue for billiards R for mo half a mo S for you it s for you T for two tea for two U for films UFA films V for La France vive la France W for a bob double you for a bob as in gambling X for breakfast eggs for breakfast Y for Gawd s sake why for God s sake Z for breezes zephyr breezes see West wind Alternative versions editThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed November 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message There are many alternative definitions offered for each letter some of which include A for effort school report comment to encourage a student who is never going to excel but tries hard A for gardner Ava Gardner Bs for honey bees for honey B for stew beef or stew B for you go before you go B for eaters Beefeaters C for fish sea for fish C for miles see for miles C for ships sea for ships C for yourself see for yourself D for dumb deaf or dumb D for cate defecate D for mation deformation D for ential differential as part of a vehicle E for brick heave a brick E for castle Hever Castle E for ning Standard Evening Standard E for or either or E for Le Gallienne Eva Le Gallienne E for Gabor Eva Gabor E for Peron Eva Peron F for after forever after F for body everybody F for lump elephant F for but don t get her pregnant f her but don t get her pregnant F for I ll kill you f her I ll kill you F for one everyone G for crying out loud gee for crying out loud H for go have a go H for beauty age before beauty H for consent age for consent H for a film age for a film H for scratch itch for scratch H for it hate ye for it I for lootin high falutin I for an eye eye for an eye I for the Engine Ivor the Engine I for the ladies eye for the ladies I for or either or I for knack for nickin off I ve a knack for nicking off J for cakes Jaffa Cakes similar sentiment to Jaffa Oranges J for good time did ya have a good time K for teria cafeteria K for toway gave it away K for restaurant cafe or restaurant mispronouncing the word cafe K for Sutherland Kiefer Sutherland K for a cuppa care for a cuppa L for bet alphabet L for Romeo Alfa Romeo M for sema emphysema M for cream Emva Cream a brand of Cypriot wine N for a profit in for a profit N for lope envelope N for lade enfilade N for lid invalid N for mation information N for a penny in for a penny mind the conflict with P above N for eggs hen for eggs N for En end for end N for Hoxha Enver Hoxha N for Pasha Enver Pasha O for crying out loud oh for crying out loud O for Gawd s sake oh for God s sake O for the wings of a dove oh for the wings of a dove O for the rainbow over the rainbow O for my dead body over my dead body O for a life of endless bliss O for draft overdraft P for relief pee for relief P for ming seals performing seals P for nanny pee for nanny P for pleasure pee for pleasure P for a whistle pea for a whistle Q for chips queue for chips Q for a theatre queue for a theatre Q for tickets queue for tickets Q for hours queue for hours Q for almost everything queue for almost everything Q for a pee queue for a pee Q for a bus queue for a bus Q for snooker cue for snooker Q for the loo queue for the loo R for Askey Arthur Askey R for dozen half a dozen R for Lowe Arthur Lowe R for Mullard Arthur Mullard R for pint half a pint S for Costello The Story of Esther Costello S for instance as for instance S for Rantzen Esther Rantzen S for Williams Esther Williams S for zando sforzando in music T for hurtin teeth are hurting T for chewin teeth for chewing U for mism euphemism U for me you for me U for Joyce Yootha Joyce W for quits double you for quits W for a quid double you for a quid gambling W for a match trouble you for a match W for a tenner double you for a tenner gambling Y for girlfriend wife or girlfriend Y for Heaven s sake why for Heaven s sake Y for crying out loud why for crying out loud Y for biscuit wafer biscuit Y for a husband wife for a husband Y for mistress wife or mistress Y for mother wife or mother Y for runts Y fronts underwear Z for his hat his head for his hat Z for a joke said for a joke Z for Zodiac Zephyr Zodiac Ford Zephyr Naming a dog Deefer as was common in the 50s citation needed is an example of the reverse of this phenomenon based on interpreting the line D for dog in an everyday alphabet verse as deefer dog Ceefer as a name for a cat also appeared in Australia after the Second World War C for cat influenced by returning servicemen from England who had been exposed to the humour of the Cockney Alphabet Notes edit The definitive Cockney Alphabet The Sydney Morning Herald 15 January 2005 Verbal frolics Times Higher Education 13 November 1998 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cockney Alphabet amp oldid 1147268991, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
