The English We Speak – Phone slang

Dec 182015

BBC The English We Speak – Phone slang (with listen&read video): Believe it or not, ‘dog’ is a slang word for ‘phone’ – it comes from a special kind of London slang called Cockney rhyming slang…

_______Show Transcript______

Finn: Hi, and welcome to The English We Speak. I’m Finn.

Feifei: And I’m Feifei. This is the programme in which we teach English slang, idioms and new language in general.

(Buzzing sound)

Feifei: What was that?

Finn: Oh sorry, I was going to mention I brought along some sound effects today from the BBC sound effects cupboard.

(Buzzing sound)

Finn: That one there, was a… well how would you describe it, Feifei?

Feifei: A buzz?

Finn: Yes, a buzz, very good. Now another one, much lighter this time…

(Tinkle sounds)

Feifei: Yes – I’d call that sound a kind of tinkling sound.

Finn: A tinkle. OK, we’ve had a buzz and a tinkle, now listen to this…

(Bell sound)

Feifei: Well, that’s easy – it’s a bell.

Finn: Absolutely right. A buzz, a tinkle and a bell…

Feifei: OK – I’m hoping you’re going to explain the connection with English slang?

Finn: Well, it’s about this…

(Phone ringing sound)

Finn: …phones. All three words can be used instead of the word ‘call’ in this sentence…

I’ll give you a call later tonight.

Feifei: I’ll give you a call. Right – we could say:

I’ll give you a buzz later tonight.

Finn: Or:

I’ll give you a tinkle later tonight.

Finn: Or, yes, you guessed it:

I’ll give you a bell later tonight.

Finn: That’s it, easy. Right; so you now have three new ways to talk about making phone calls. But what about the word for phone itself?

(Dog barking sound)

Feifei: OK – well, that was the sound of a dog!

Finn: That was my dog, Frankie. Shhh, Frankie! Believe it or not, ‘dog’ is a slang word for ‘phone’ – it comes from a special kind of London slang called Cockney rhyming slang…

Feifei: Yes – this is a good one. Dogs like bones, and the phrase ‘dog and bone’ rhymes with ‘phone’… Dog and bone, phone!

Finn: It does, in some parts of the UK you’ll hear it used in the same way as the phrase: ‘on the phone’… So, you’ll hear: ‘on the dog’.