Word Watch 5, "Cockney Rhyme Slang"

When we were in London (which was nothing short of FABULOUS), our tour guide, Liz, introduced us to Cockney Rhyme Slang. The concept is quite simple for how complex the "language" is: a phrase is designated to a word that rhymes with it, and then the rhyme is discarded. For example, cow and kisses means missus. In this context, if a man were to speak of his wife, or a friend's, he would refer to her as cow instead of the missus. Nowadays, interestingly enough, we use cow as a term for a repulsive woman.

Liz suggested a book to us, The Language of London, if we were interested in learning more cockney rhyme slang. Some examples from the book are:
Jack Sprat -- brat
Jam tart -- sweetheart
Mother's pride -- bride
These three all make sense, if one is familiar with the phrase. However, if one were to hear just sprat, tart, or pride, it is not difficult to see how one unfamiliar with Cockney Rhyme Slang would get confused.
Here is another example from the book:
Jack and Jills -- pills (to do, of course, with going up, or getting "high")

I was completely in love with rhyme slang (as we all were, I think). But especially in the connotation of "cow" is evident how words evolve and change in odd ways as time goes on.