Rhyming slang in the HP series

[oriondruid@btinternet.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 192462



--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Geoff" <geoffbannister123 at ...> wrote:
>
> Geoff:
> Since John and I have deviated off-topic a few posts ago, I thought I would 
> legitimise things and look at Cockney rhyming slang in the context of the 
> HP books.

Snipped.

Hi again Geoff.

Thanks for that master class on common usage of various phrases in English that derive from or are slang. Several of these I of course knew, but by no means all.

I'd add Nymphadora Tonks in canon who of course has a habit of using a bit of non rhyming slang, ( as far as I know) probably derived  from Cockney (ish)language as a common greeting. Her cheery Wotcher (or alternative usage Wotcha) Harry! is an example not just of Tonk's friendliness and slight eccentricity, but also her command of Cockney/East End figures of speech. The exact meaning of this greeting can possibly be said to be exactly the same as that used by the natives of Pandora in the film Avatar, in which they greet each other with 'I see you'. Both as a  greeting and a marker of recognition.

Many Blessings.
John, (Oriondruid).