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| | Cockney Rhyming Slang in The AnswerBank: Phrases & Sayings |
 | | This area, so-called Cockney London, was once defined as being that which was 'within the sound of Bow bells', the bells of the now-demolished church of St Mary Le Bow on Cheapside in the City of London. |
 | | Rhyming slang, just part of the Cockney vernacular, seems to have come to prominence in the early to mid 19th century. |
 | | It is frequently suggested that it began its life as the tongue of the London street trader, perhaps in an attempt to conceal their often illicit practices from the public or, more importantly, from the then-recently established police force, the 'peelers' or 'bobbies', named after Sir Robert Peel, the statesman who set up the force. |
| www.theanswerbank.co.uk /article1091.html (643 words) |
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