俚语 | 由dogs引发的一件公案

做听写时发现一个熟悉的用法

My feet are killing me.

之前见过的类似表达是：My dogs are killing me.

▲成寒《躺着学英语2》

文中提示，dogs即是“脚”的俚语。

但是，dogs和feet究竟有什么关系，它怎么就成了“脚”的俚语了？

▍首先查询俚语词典Urban Dictionary，可以找到这个条目：

▲Urban Dictionary

dogs可以指“a person's feet”，可还是没有说明缘由。

▍接着查询词源网站Online Etymology Dictionary：

▲Online Etymology Dictionary

此时终于有了一点头绪，“feet”，from rhyming slang dog's meat.

▍什么是rhyming slang呢？来看维基百科的解释：

Rhyming slang is a form of slang word construction in the English language that uses rhyme. It is especially prevalent in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It started in the early 19th century in the East End of London; hence its alternative name, Cockney rhyming slang. In America, it is used in the underworld, where it is known as Australian slang.

The construction of rhyming slang involves replacing a common word with a phrase of two or three words, the last of which rhymes with the original word; then, in almost all cases, omitting, from the end of the phrase, the secondary rhyming word (which is thereafter implied), making the origin and meaning of the phrase elusive to listeners not in the know.

——Wikipedia

这里还有一个简明易懂的rhyming slang示例：

The form that is followed is made clear with the following example. The rhyming phrase"apples and pears" evolved to mean "stairs". Following the pattern of omission, "and pears" is dropped, thus the spoken phrase "I'm going up the apples" means "I'm going up the stairs".
——Wikipedia

▍更多关于rhyming slang的故事和例子，可以在以下网站找到：

http://www.cockneyrhymingslang.co.uk/
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/cockney-rhyming-slang.html
https://www.le.ac.uk/ee/glossaries/2008/cockney/index.html

其中第一个网站十分可爱有趣，里面还有一个Cockney translator的小工具。

▍发现rhyming slang通常是指Cockney rhyming slang之后，我马上想起了一部英剧Mind Your Language，该剧讲述的是一群异国学生在伦敦某学校学习英语的喜剧故事。剧中有一个看门人Sid，他在剧中经常使用这种rhyming slang，使得在这个学校学习英语的各国学生摸不着头脑，不明白Sid在说什么。

▲Mind Your Language S01E04

学校的英语老师Mr. Brown不得不给大家解释：

▲Mind Your Language S01E04

没错，看门人Sid告诉我们，plates of meat可以指“feet”。那么dog's meat呢？

▍查询维基词典，可以发现用dog's meat表示feet的说法是真实存在的：

▲Wiktionary

在Londontopia网站上，也有一篇文章Language: Top 100 Cockney Rhyming Slang Words and Phrases，列出了一些相似的Cockney rhyming slang，同样出现了dog's meat和feet：

▲Londontopia

回到最初，My **feet/ **dogs ****are killing me. 从feet到dogs，再到dog's meat，穷追不舍的过程乐趣无穷。简单的句子，简单的词，其实内有乾坤。

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