London Quiz - Cockney Life (Questions)

The term Cockney is widely used in popular culture today and has been since the 1600s. Cockneys have been famously portrayed in popular films such as My Fair Lady - Audrey Hepburn played a beguiling Eliza Doolittle. Dick van Dyke’s accent as Cockney sweep Bert is fairly infamous and has even been voted worst on screen accent ever in one poll. See if you can spot the truths below from the porky pies.

1. Etymologically (according to the origins of the word) Cockney means which of these?
[ ] A commoner
[ ] Shoddy
[ ] A cock’s egg
[ ] A wheelbarrow
2. If a Cockney mentioned ‘Ruby Murray’ what would he be talking about?
[ ] A curry
[ ] Being in a hurry
[ ] A light snowfall
[ ] A town in Alberta, Canada
3. To call yourself a true Cockney you must have been born within earshot of which church bells?
[ ] St Mary-le-Bow, Cheapside
[ ] St Bartholomew the Great
[ ] St Mary and Holy Trinity in Tower Hamlets
[ ] St Mary Atte Bow
4. If you are chatting in the street with a Cockney friend and as you leave she says ‘Christian’ what would she mean?
[ ] Be good
[ ] See you later
[ ] Don’t slip on the ice
[ ] Watch out for the pothole behind you
5. A person who chooses to speak with a Cockney accent or use the Cockney dialect rather than his or her own is commonly referred to as a what?
[ ] Pseudo Cockney
[ ] Mockney
[ ] Cocknee
[ ] Toffee
6. Someone who has had a few Britneys, some Laurel and Hardy, a little Winona and some Calvin Klein would be which of the below?
[ ] Drunk
[ ] Vegan
[ ] Exhausted
[ ] Bankrupt
7. If you’re ever caught out and find yourself ‘Hank Marvin’ which of these people should you be looking out for?
[ ] Saddam Hussein
[ ] Omar Sheriff
[ ] Kahlil Gibran
[ ] Colonel Gaddafi
8. Whilst some visitors to Britain think that all Londoners are Cockney, with which area of London are true Cockneys associated?
[ ] Southwark
[ ] The City of London
[ ] Soho
[ ] The east end
9. If a Cockney was having a ‘butcher’s’ he would be doing what?
[ ] Working
[ ] Taking a look at something
[ ] Reading a book
[ ] Hanging up his jacket
10. Which of these could one not do with a ‘whistle’?
[ ] Pack it
[ ] Clean it
[ ] Wear it
[ ] Play it
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London Quiz - Cockney Life (Answers)
1. Etymologically (according to the origins of the word) Cockney means which of these?
[ ] A commoner
[ ] Shoddy
[x] A cock’s egg
[ ] A wheelbarrow
The word Cockney comes from cockene, the old genitive plural of cock and ey, the Middle English word for egg
2. If a Cockney mentioned ‘Ruby Murray’ what would he be talking about?
[x] A curry
[ ] Being in a hurry
[ ] A light snowfall
[ ] A town in Alberta, Canada
Ruby Murray was a British singer who had several hits in the 1950s. It’s not related to Fort McMurray, a flurry or being pressed for time
3. To call yourself a true Cockney you must have been born within earshot of which church bells?
[x] St Mary-le-Bow, Cheapside
[ ] St Bartholomew the Great
[ ] St Mary and Holy Trinity in Tower Hamlets
[ ] St Mary Atte Bow
The famous Bow Bells of Cheapside are thought to have been heard as far as six miles to the east, four miles to the west, five miles to the north and three miles to the south
4. If you are chatting in the street with a Cockney friend and as you leave she says ‘Christian’ what would she mean?
[ ] Be good
[x] See you later
[ ] Don’t slip on the ice
[ ] Watch out for the pothole behind you
Christian Slater – see you later. It’s not connected with a crater, a skater or the church
5. A person who chooses to speak with a Cockney accent or use the Cockney dialect rather than his or her own is commonly referred to as a what?
[ ] Pseudo Cockney
[x] Mockney
[ ] Cocknee
[ ] Toffee
Some celebrities who have been called Mockneys are Guy Richie, Jamie Oliver, Lilly Allen and Kate Nash
6. Someone who has had a few Britneys, some Laurel and Hardy, a little Winona and some Calvin Klein would be which of the below?
[x] Drunk
[ ] Vegan
[ ] Exhausted
[ ] Bankrupt
They would have consumed a few beers, some Bacardi, a little cider and some wine and would most likely be ‘Elephant’s Trunk’!
7. If you’re ever caught out and find yourself ‘Hank Marvin’ which of these people should you be looking out for?
[ ] Saddam Hussein
[ ] Omar Sheriff
[ ] Kahlil Gibran
[x] Colonel Gaddafi
You’d be wise to hunt down a café!
8. Whilst some visitors to Britain think that all Londoners are Cockney, with which area of London are true Cockneys associated?
[ ] Southwark
[ ] The City of London
[ ] Soho
[x] The east end
Particularly the inner suburbs of east London: Aldgate, Bethnal Green, Bow, Hackney, Limehouse, Mile End, Old Ford, Poplar, Shoreditch, Stepney, Wapping and Whitechapel
9. If a Cockney was having a ‘butcher’s’ he would be doing what?
[ ] Working
[x] Taking a look at something
[ ] Reading a book
[ ] Hanging up his jacket
‘Butcher’s hook’ means to have a look, usually shortened to just ‘butcher’s’ and implying to look at an item one might be considering buying
10. Which of these could one not do with a ‘whistle’?
[ ] Pack it
[ ] Clean it
[ ] Wear it
[x] Play it
In Cockney rhyming slang a whistle is short for a whistle and flute, meaning suit.
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