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Rhyming Slang Variations
Ava Captains, Mate

By Larry Rivera, About.com

The easiest examples of rhyming slang are straight-out rhymes. Thus plates of meat are feet. And rubbity-dub is pub; depending on context, it could also mean tub as in bath tub.

So ava Captain Cook, for instance, at Captain Cook.

Ava isn’t rhyming slang but simply how some Aussies pronounce Have a as in avagoodweegend (Have a good weekend).

But Captain Cook is definitely rhyming slang and means look.

Making it more complex

And so to variations.

The most common variation is to drop the rhyming word altogether. So you could simply ava captains (have a look) at this example. Sometimes when the rhyming word is dropped, the remaining word takes on a plural form for no logical reason.

A third step is to abbreviate (or corrupt) the first word, so that not only is the rhyming word gone but the first word in the phrase is corrupted. Hence, seppo for American.

The original phrase is septic tank for Yank and septic is corrupted into seppo. (Don’t ask me why Americans are called Yanks even if they come from the American South.) Another term used is tin tank.

When rhyming slang is flying thick and fast, it’s best to know what some of them mean.

Next page > Examples > Page 1, 2, 3

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Larry Rivera
Guide since 1997

Larry Rivera
Australia / NZ Travel Guide

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