Australian Rhyming Slang — Barry, Dog, Plates & How It Works

BARRY

Convict Shirts — Australian Slang Series

RHYMING
SLANG

Barry Crocker, dog and bone, plates of meat — the mechanism, the dropped-word rule, and a full A–Z glossary of Australian rhyming slang.

How It Works — The Mechanism

Rhyming slang substitutes a word with a phrase that rhymes with it — then, frequently, drops the rhyming word entirely, leaving only the non-rhyming part. The result is a code that is opaque to anyone who doesn’t already know it, and entirely transparent to anyone who does.

The mechanism: stairs becomes apples and pears. Then apples and pears is shortened to apples. The rhyme is gone. Unless you know that apples stands for apples and pears which stands for stairs, the word is meaningless. This is the point. Rhyming slang originated as a code — in 19th-century London’s East End, among market traders, thieves, and working-class communities who had reasons to obscure their meaning from outsiders.

Australian rhyming slang borrowed from the British tradition and added its own terms — particularly names of Australian public figures, which are a distinctive feature of the local variety. Where British rhyming slang uses generic phrases (dog and bone for phone), Australian rhyming slang uses names: Barry Crocker for shocker, Al Capone for phone, Kevin Sheedy for seedy.

The Dropped-Word Rule

The full form

The complete rhyming phrase: dog and bone (phone), plates of meat (feet), Barry Crocker (shocker). Heard in full when introducing the term or for emphasis.

The shortened form

The non-rhyming element only: dog (phone), plates (feet), Barry (shocker). This is the form in everyday use. The rhyme has been dropped. Without prior knowledge, the connection to the original word is invisible.

Why drop the rhyme?

Dropping the rhyming word increases the obscurity of the code. Dog and bone is decipherable to anyone who tries. Dog on its own, meaning phone, is not. The shortened form is both more efficient and more opaque — which serves both the practical and the covert functions of rhyming slang simultaneously.

A–Z Glossary

Slang term	Full phrase	Meaning
Al Capone	Al Capone	Phone
Apples	Apples and pears	Stairs
Aristotle	Aristotle	Bottle
Barry	Barry Crocker	Shocker
Beetle	Beetle and wedge	Sledge (cricket)
Billy	Billy lids	Kids
Bo Diddley	Bo Diddley	Quickly
Boat	Boat race	Face
Boon	Boondi rock	Sock (punch)
Bristol	Bristol cities	Titties
Captain Cook	Captain Cook	Look
Chevy Chase	Chevy Chase	Face
China	China plate	Mate
Cobbler	Cobbler’s awls	Balls
Coral	Coral reef	Teeth
Dicky	Dicky bird	Word
Dicky	Dicky dirt	Shirt
Dog	Dog and bone	Phone
Duchesses	Duchesses of Fife	Wife
Frog	Frog and toad	Road
Gregory	Gregory Peck	Cheque / neck
Grim reaper	Grim reaper	Speaker
Ginger	Ginger beer	Engineer / queer
Holy ghost	Holy ghost	Toast / post
Jack Jones	Jack Jones	Alone
Joe Blake	Joe Blake	Snake / steak
Kevin Sheedy	Kevin Sheedy	Seedy
Khyber	Khyber Pass	Arse
Laugh	Laugh and joke	Smoke
Malcolm Fraser	Malcolm Fraser	Razor / glazier
Mince pies	Mince pies	Eyes
Molly	Molly the monk	Drunk
Noah	Noah’s ark	Shark / park
Oily	Oily rag	Fag (cigarette)
Pat Malone	Pat Malone	Alone
Plates	Plates of meat	Feet
Pork	Pork and bean	Queen
Pope	Pope of Rome	Home
Reg Grundy	Reg Grundy / Grundies	Undies
Rickety	Rickety Kate	Late
Rosy	Rosy Lee	Tea
Rubbity	Rubbity dub	Pub
Shicker	Shicker	Liquor
Spit	Spit and drag	Fag (cigarette)
Stan	Stan the man	Plan
Tea leaf	Tea leaf	Thief
Tilly	Tilly and Lou	Shoe
Tod	Tod Sloan	Alone
Tom	Tom tit	Shit (defecate)
Trouble	Trouble and strife	Wife
Two and eight	Two and eight	State (of distress)
Vera	Vera Lynn	Chin / gin
Wombat	Wombat	Combat boots

On Tees

Rhyming slang on tees works because the shortened form is a puzzle — PLATES means nothing until it means everything. Wearing it signals a specific kind of cultural fluency that is both exclusive and inviting.