It’s a good system.
Everyone knows it’s called Big Ben.
People who derive a disproportionate amount of their self-esteem from correcting others get to “well, actually” about it.
The rest of us get to roll our eyes at them in turn.
Everyone’s a winner!
Works for me!
Cockney, known for its distinct vocabulary and rhyming slang, is a dialect traditionally spoken by working-class Londoners from the East End. Over time, it left a lasting mark on British English, with many Cockney expressions making their way into everyday language. Some stayed the same, while others evolved along the way.
My mother wasn’t a Londoner—she was from Orpington in Kent—but she knew her way around Cockney quite well. As a kid, I used to love it when she’d teach my American friends and I some of the Cockney phrases she picked up.
Here are a few Cockney-inspired Britishisms:
Blimey: An expression of surprise or excitement, coming from “God blind me.”
Guv’nor: A casual term for “boss” or someone in charge.
Butcher’s (Hook): Meaning “a look,” as in, “Let me have a butcher’s at that.”
Apples and Pears: Rhyming slang for “stairs.” “Climb the apples and pears.”
Dog and Bone: Refers to “phone.” “Give me a ring on the old dog and bone.”
Tea Leaf: Means “thief.” “Watch out for tea leaves on the tube.”
Mince Pies: Rhymes with “eyes.” “I couldn’t believe my mince pies.”
The word “Cockney” goes back to the Middle Ages, where it was originally used as an insult for a spoiled, city-bred child. By the 16th century, it became specifically associated with Londoners, and eventually with the working-class folk of the East End.
Traditionally, a true Cockney is said to be someone born within earshot of the Bow Bells at St. Mary-le-Bow Church in Cheapside. Cockney speech is also known for dropping the ‘h’ sound (so “house” becomes “'ouse”) and using a glottal stop (like turning “bottle” into “bo’le”).
While the traditional Cockney dialect is declining due to changes in London’s East End, its influence is still strong. In fact, Cockney has blended with other linguistic styles to help shape new dialects, like Multicultural London English.
Traditionally, in Cockney, the rhyming word is dropped as part of the encoding of meaning - so ‘stairs’ becomes ‘apples’; ‘eyes’ becomes ‘minces’.
Also, “China” refers to a friend, and is a shortened version of “Meet my friend. There’s nobody finer. You’d have to go all the way to China.”
I’ve heard a few bits of rhyming slabg in broader English, but the only one I can think of now is “porkies” (pork pies = lies).
Rhyming slang is a dying out as a living part of the language. There are some parts of it that have made it into general usage (like “porkies”) but most people under 30, even in London, won’t have heard anybody actually use it in normal speech.
More importantly, it has AFAICT ceased to evolve - I’m not aware of any rhyming slang terms for “internet”, “video game”, “smart phone”, “Google”, “social media” or any other neologism from the late 20th century onwards.
Which is kind of inevitable - the purpose of slang is to be intelligible within a community an unintelligible to outsiders, and as communities shift and change so too will the viability of particular strains of slang.
The entire Dope in one pithy nutshell. It even plays equally well on both sides of the pond.
Nicely done Good Sir! 
There are probably a few more - “I don’t have a scooby” from scooby-doo=clue.
maybe some you don’t even realise are rhyming slang - “He’s lost his bottle” from Bottle and glass= arse - literally meaning “he has soiled himself” (with fear)
Well, actually 
…a quick search online shows that while most traditional Cockney rhyming slang has faded or died, some phrases have stuck around. For example, saying “I haven’t got a Scooby” (meaning “I haven’t got a clue”) is still apparently used across the UK, even outside of London. Also, Cockney influences like dropping the ‘h’ in words like “house” to say “'ouse” or using glottal stops—turning “butter” into “bu’er”—are still pretty common, especially in pop culture and TV shows set in London. You’ll hear these accents in films like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels or in British series like EastEnders, keeping that Cockney flavor alive.
That said, the only time I’ve been to England was for three months back in 1965, so I can’t claim to have firsthand experience with how it’s evolved since then.
Hmm, @Gryphea beat me to the draw!
I’m not from London (although my mother is close to being an actual genuine Cockney, not that you can tell as she’s lived away from there for so long) but I use the word ‘blimey’ on occasion. I think it’s fairly common across the UK. Dropping Hs and glottal stops are also very common across the UK generally (it’s essentially lazy speech. I am guilty of it quite a bit!).
Is that the British spelling of that word?
Of coarse!
Rude words are often further obfuscated, Arse is aften called Aris’ …
Aris = Aristotle = Bottle = Bottle and Glass = Arse.
As in “Shift yer Aris !”
I accept that Brits think that an entity are going to do something, as in “The 77th Brigade are infiltrating society” or “Ipswich Town are a pitiful squad”.
I just don’t understand why U.S. sports websites insist on using the same benighted grammar. It should be “D.C. United is plunging toward the bottom of the standings*”, not “D.C. United are playing like shit**”.
**yes, it should be “standings”, not “table”.
**and don’t go putting an “e” on the end of “shit”. Totally unacceptable. 
Them’s fightin words… 
It’s just an old fashioned way of spelling it. (As in “ye olde foode shoppe is shite”)
Did you Brits ever really say “I say!” a lot, or was that mostly a Nigel Bruce sort of thing?
Another one (which may be somewhat obsolete) is paraffin. In both cases it’s derived from petroleum, but in the US it’s a waxy substance which was used in canning (it would be melted and poured over the food in a jar to seal it), while in the UK it seems to be what would be kerosene in the US: a liquid fuel used in lamps and stoves.
D’oh!
I knew something looked funny about that post but I couldn’t quite place it.
Thank you both / boath / bouth !