Etymological Myths and Compound Etymologies in Rhyming Slang

Abstract

Knowledge of how rhyming slang works has often led scholars and laypeople to assume, without a shred of evidence, that many words of unknown derivation have their origins in this form of slang. Some of these assumptions are based on the premise that, if two synonymous words or phrases rhyme, one of them must derive from the other, while others hinge on the supposed existence of a full form whose second element helps unravel the puzzle. This tendency to folk-etymologise by resorting to rhyme is also reflected in many terms resulting from a conflation of a non-rhyming slang word and an underlying rhyme, the former usually being regarded as an elliptical version of the full rhyming slang term, rather than one of its etymons. Drawing on data from a range of primary and secondary sources, this article examines the inner workings of a number of false but widely entertained rhyming slang etymologies and shows how some of the mechanisms that triggered them have long been used in the creation of genuine folk-etymological elaborations.