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My china!

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Here in South Africa "china" is a common slang term for "friend." I hadn't the slightest idea where that came from, but today I learned that it comes from Cockney rhyming slang! For the unaware, CRS works by taking a word, choosing a rhyming phrase, then (in most cases) discarding the actual rhyme. Example: tiddly = tiddlywinks = drinks. Barney = Barney Rubble = trouble. For china, we have china = china plate = mate.

Anyway, that's your etymology for the day.
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  1. KristenDecember 10, 2010 at 5:43 AM

    Now I know where my costume originated!! Also, in Ocean's 11 that fun British explosive guy says "barney" and then explains it exactly like that.

    ReplyDelete
  2. RyanDecember 11, 2010 at 12:40 AM

    I knew I had seen that somewhere before. Don Cheadle is awesome!

    ReplyDelete

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