# What is a "berk"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 16, 1999, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-berk/4835 "1999-11-16T17:09:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dfahs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@dfahs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dfahs)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 1999, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-berk/4835/1 "1999-11-16T17:09:00Z")
Can any of the UK members explain to me what is implied by the insulting term “berk”? Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Rodd\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ab097/32.png) [@Rodd\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodd_Hill)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 1999, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-berk/4835/2 "1999-11-16T17:45:00Z")
Rhyming slang. Berkeley Hunt (famous upper-crust hunt with dogs, etc.)= cunt. Well, you asked! ---
**Author:** ![Jois](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ea666f/32.png) [@Jois](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jois)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 1999, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-berk/4835/3 "1999-11-16T17:48:00Z")
Half UK here - Did you hear or read it? Burke might be one of the men who got bodies for the great anatomists in the 1900s from freshly buried graves. Rather than dig up the whole coffin Burke figured out that he only had to dig up the head end, then break open the coffin, slip a rope around the corpse’s neck and pull the body out. Easier and faster- So to burke some one became strangling… I’d say you were called something not too very nice if someone called you Burke, Burker or some variation thereof. But if it’s Berk, I donno. ---
**Author:** ![neuro-trash\_grrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3ab097/32.png) [@neuro-trash\_grrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neuro-trash_grrrl)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 1999, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-berk/4835/4 "1999-11-17T06:12:00Z")
I’ve seen the term “berk” in print, spelled like that. It appears in The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole. * * * “That’s entertainment!” —Vlad the Impaler ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 1999, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-berk/4835/5 "1999-11-17T06:23:00Z")
Is it pronounced “burk” or “bark”? ---
**Author:** ![heretic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/46a35a/32.png) [@heretic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heretic)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 1999, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-berk/4835/6 "1999-11-17T06:34:00Z")
It’s pronounced “burk” and the rhyming slang derivation is the correct one. ben ---
**Author:** ![heretic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/46a35a/32.png) [@heretic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heretic)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 1999, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-berk/4835/7 "1999-11-17T06:36:00Z")
Except I always thought it was Berk **shire** Hunt. ---
**Author:** ![Rodd\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ab097/32.png) [@Rodd\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodd_Hill)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 1999, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-berk/4835/8 "1999-11-17T06:47:00Z")
You’re quite right, heretic: it is _-shire_. I must have subconsiously been channeling a 1930’s musical movie extravaganza. A few other rhyming slang that I can recall: Richard (Richard the Third)= turd; apples ‘n’ pears = stairs trouble and strife= wife; titfer (tit for tat)= hat; plates (of meat)= feet; german bands = hands (circa 1910, that one). ---
**Author:** ![dfahs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@dfahs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dfahs)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 1999, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-berk/4835/9 "1999-11-16T19:05:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Well, you asked! Yes, I did, and I would have been quite surprised if the answer were something mild. Thanks for adding to my supply of useless knowledge! ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 1999, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-berk/4835/10 "1999-11-16T22:47:00Z")
Rodd Hill is correct in the derivation. However I would not tell a pupil off for using ‘berk’, as these days it just means a fool. Cunt however would not be acceptable (as a swear word). ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 1999, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-berk/4835/11 "1999-11-16T23:12:00Z")
I thunk that Berkeley and Berkshire were pronounced Barkley and Barkshure … ? ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 1999, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-berk/4835/12 "1999-11-17T02:39:00Z")
Rodd Hill left out one of my favorite Cockney rhyming slang words: Bristol (from Bristol Cities) = titties. Mel Brooks even used this in _Robin Hood: Men in Tights_, so it **must** be for real. ---
**Author:** ![neuro-trash\_grrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3ab097/32.png) [@neuro-trash\_grrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neuro-trash_grrrl)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 1999, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-berk/4835/13 "1999-11-17T03:31:00Z")
Incidentally, a couple of common American slang terms can be traced to Cockney rhyming slang. Using “loaf” for “head” comes from “loaf of bread”, and the term “raspberry” as in “Bronx cheer” comes from “raspberry tart”, which rhymes with… * * * “That’s entertainment!” —Vlad the Impaler ---
**Author:** ![mr\_john](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@mr\_john](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr_john)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 1999, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-berk/4835/14 "1999-11-18T02:19:00Z")
Nuero thanx for the raspberry, uh for the info i mean, I read a really convuluted explanation for that once and I thought it sounded screwy.Now I know. I think you’re berking up the wrong tray,Dex. Dont worry I won’t tell anyone I’ll keep it under my titfer, I wear a derby. * * * “Pardon me while I have a strange interlude.”-Marx ---
**Author:** ![Homer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df788c/32.png) [@Homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homer)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 1999, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-berk/4835/15 "1999-11-18T02:35:00Z")
All right. What’s goin on here!? What’s the deal with rhyming slang, anyway? Does anyone in the ol’ UK still do that, these days? Or is it one of those things people do for a while, then realize how gay it is, and quit? Like Pokemon… Seriously, though, what’s UP with this rhyming slang stuff I keep hearing about? Is rhyming that big a deal in UK? –Tim * * * We are the children of the Eighties. We are not the first “lost generation” nor today’s lost generation; in fact, we think we know just where we stand - or are discovering it as we speak. ---
**Author:** ![omni-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8dc957/32.png) [@omni-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omni-not)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 1999, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-berk/4835/16 "1999-11-18T03:21:00Z")
From Collins {British} Dictionary: > [@](#): > > burk or berk: n. _Brit. slang_ a stupid person, fool (shortened from _Berkeley or Berkshire Hunt_, rhyming slang for _cunt_. > > burke: vb. 1. to murder in such a way as to leave no marks on the body, usually by suffocation. 2. to get rid of, silence or suppress. {C19: named after W. Burke (1792-1829), Irishman executed in Edinburgh for a murder of this type} * * * omniscientnot, in a previous incarnation. The hyphen says it all… ---
**Author:** ![heretic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/46a35a/32.png) [@heretic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heretic)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 1999, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-berk/4835/17 "1999-11-18T21:32:00Z")
Tim, I don’t know of any connexions between homosexuality and rhyming slang, except “Jinge” -\> “Ginger Beer” -\> “Queer”. Rhyming slang is a linguistic phenomenon, not a children’s fad dreamt up by soulless marketeers. ben ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 1999, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-berk/4835/18 "1999-11-18T22:08:00Z")
Homer, Rhyming slang is not commonly used in Britain except for the occasional phrase which has slipped into general use. It was pretty much a London phenomenon in the first place (London’s east end). I can’t think of many phrases off-hand that are used much…but here’s a few: **bristols** -\> Bristol City (a football club) -\> titty **syrup** -\> syrup of figs -\> wig(s) **jimmy** -\> jimmy riddle -\> piddle (piss) **ruby** -\> Ruby Murray (I have no idea who that is) -\> curry (“let’s all go for a ruby!”) Rhyming slang is still being made up, though (mostly on the playground or in the pub!) - I know a few people who use… **Pat** -\> Pat Cash -\> slash (another one for piss) **Pete** -\> Pete Tong (well-known DJ) -\> wrong (as in “it’s all gone Pete”) Always enlightening, eh? ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 1999, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-berk/4835/19 "1999-11-18T22:22:00Z")
“I haven’t got a scooby” - Scooby Doo - clue ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 1999, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-berk/4835/20 "1999-11-18T22:53:00Z")
CKDextHavn, Yes, your pronounciations are exactly what I’d use. Incidentally there’s a port drink called ‘Cockburns’, which apparently you’re supposed to say as ‘Co’burns’ (sighs deeply - why not just keep it simple?) tracer, as you say, ‘bristols’ means ‘breasts’. But what on earth is ‘Bristol Cities’ (as per dictionary)? There’s a football team called Bristol City, but these rhymes are supposed to be obvious, aren’t they? Homer, I was born in Central London, and my mate in East London. That makes him a ‘cockney’ - supposedly born within the sound of Bow (Church) Bells. Both of us can do a Lunnen accen’ (London accent), and be recognised as such by other Londoners. But in 30 years neither of us have used rhyming slang - except when asked to by tourists, of course. London for beginners: Leave it ou’, mate (stop it, or I don’t believe you) Nice set o’ wheels, John (I admire your car, friend) * * * In the bathtub of history, the truth is harder to hold than the soap… (Pratchett) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-berk/4835.md?page=2)