Trouble and Strife

I've always been interested in slang.Who hasn't? The first thing you want to figure out is how to swear and use slang convincingly when learning a foreign language. Why? Probably so you can look like you've been speaking it all your life...Or to look cool..Or to NOT look like a tourist. Also, it's good for laughs if you're obviously too old to be speaking that way.

Now, Cockney Rhyming Slang has always confused the crap out of me. On its surface, it seems like something you'd be able to figure out since it's all rhymed, unlike other slang which just seems to be made up, with no clue as to its etymology. However, if someone were to ask you to "have a butcher's", would you know it meant "Have a look"? See, the trick is the whole rhymed phrase is not spoken. The complete phrase would be A butcher's hook".

Even so, how many other words rhyme with "hook" and "look"? I suppose you have to take context into account, but I've always wondered how even two people conversing in CRS could understand the meaning of the words. It's not like there's a definitive source, like a dictionary...Or is there?

And if anyone out there actually speaks like this in their daily life, please let me know. Is this "dictionary" accurate? Or is it a load of turkish delight?

Triste

Melancholy is a luxury.