Would you Adam and Eve it? Some people don t have a. Danny La Rue what Rosy Lee means in Cockney. rhyming slang

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1 Would you Adam and Eve it? Some people don t have a Danny La Rue what Rosy Lee means in Cockney rhyming slang But don t worry, more than 8 out of 10 of those aged over 45 know what they are eating when you serve a Ruby Murray London, 15 th August 2015: Would you Adam and Eve it? Ask Britons aged 18-to-24 what the cockney rhyming slang term Rosy Lee means and 40% of them haven t the faintest idea. Try the youngsters on Apple & Pears and 43% get stuck. Younger people certainly looked a bit Westminster Abbey on those two terms. It wasn t much different with Bottle & Stopper, which means copper (policeman). Only 41% knew the answer but this time the youngsters did Mae West bless em compared to the other age groups: only 28% of the 65+ age band got that one right, and only 30% of the 55-to-64s. These are some of the findings of a nationally representative online survey conducted by ICM Unlimited in July on behalf of Rosy Lee Tea (London). Taking its name from the cockney rhyming slang term a cup of Rosy Lee for the classic and much-loved British cup of tea, Rosy Lee Tea (London) is a new brand of premium black Kenyan/Assam blended tea. Bottle and Stopper? A Whopper? For those that didn t have a Danny La Rue with some of the Rosy Lee Tea Survey questions there were inspired guesses. Rosy Lee? No less than 12% of the 18-to-24s were certain it means free while 8% said it means The North Sea. Bottle and Stopper? There was no shortage of respondents (some 20% aged 55-to-64) that were convinced it refers to A Whopper, meaning the signature hamburger of a famous American fast-food chain. The youngsters went more astray than any other

2 age group with Adam and Eve, with 23% claiming it means conceive, 14% saying it means thieve and 20% throwing their Brass Bands up in the air and admitting they simply don t know. Respondents could have done with a bit more Donald Duck with the cockney rhyming slang Early Hours. This turned out to be the most difficult term, with no more than 32% getting that one right. It means flowers but 29% of the 18-to-24s think it means April showers and another 7% decided it means trousers. Another tough one was Coals and Coke ( smoke ). Across the various age bands, only between 26% and 36% got this one right, with a notable proportion thinking it means broke and the vast majority admitting they didn t have a Scooby Doo. Another tough question was Merry Go Round. It means a pound but only 24% of the 18-to-24s knew the right answer while the performance for the other age groups was even worse. Over 80% of people aged 45 got it completely Pete Tong, while 26% of 45-to-54s were convinced it means walk around and another 12% chose breeding ground. No, Ruby Murray doesn t mean Surrey There were easier questions though. More than 8 out of 10 of those over 45 were absolutely Bobby Moore when it came to Ruby Murray (which means curry ), although 24% of the 18-to-24s chose in a hurry and 5% said it s obviously Cockney code for the leafy county of Surrey. The best scores were for the Rosy Lee question with way over 90% of the over-45s bang on the Bugs Bunny with that one. But by the end of the survey most respondents were clearly Cream Crackered or maybe it was just a simple Dick Emery problem. Does Oily Rag mean a fag (cigarette), an old nag or a paper bag? The youngsters scored badly on that one (only 27% got it right) but the other age groups were just as poor: only 36% of the 45-to-54s guessed the right answer and only 32% of the 55-to-64s. Clare Fuller, one of the Rosy Lee Tea (London) partners says: If the survey hasn't already made anybody overdose on Cockney rhyming slang, I'd say that people were Robin Hood at some of the

3 terms in our survey but not so good with others. The older respondents got their Hampstead Heath right into Rosy Lee and they found that one really Lemon Squeezy but Coles and Coke and Early Hours clearly made more than a few people scratch their Loaves. For anybody that wants to learn more rhyming slang, Rosy Lee Tea (London) has produced a range of original 100%-cotton tea towels complete with Cockney rhyming slang terms. Ends

4 Notes to Editors: % Rosy Lee Tea Survey Best-known Cockney rhyming slang terms Rosy Lea cup of tea 82% Apples and Pears stairs 81% Adam and Eve believe 72% Ruby Murray curry 72% Cuts and Scratches matches 46% Bottle and Stopper copper (policeman) 32% Oily Rag fag (cigarette) 31% Early Hours flowers 27% Merry Go Round a pound 19% Coals and coke broke 17% Other Cockney rhyming slang terms in this press release: Westminster Abbey: shabby Mae West: best Danny La Rue: clue Scooby Doo: clue Donald Duck: luck Brass Bands: hands Pete Tong: wrong Bugs Bunny: money Cream Crackered: knackered (tired) Dick Emery: memory Robin Hood: good Hampstead Heath: teeth Lemon Squeezy: easy Loaf of Bread: head Bobby Moore: sure Places you will have seen Rosy Lee Tea include: The Albion; 3939, The Shop at Bluebird, Kings Road; The Clerkenwell Kitchen; The De Beauvoir Deli Co; Docklands Museum; East Dulwich Deli; Giddy Up; HMS Belfast; Imperial War Museum, Duxford; Lotte Inch, York; Museum of London; The

5 National Portrait Gallery; Paul Smith (Borough Market, Heathrow, Selfridges and Terminal 5); The School of Life; The Whitechapel Gallery Café/Bar.

6 Cockney Rhyming Slang tea towels available in Rosy Red (pictured) and Classic Cream For further information, please contact: Rosy Lee Tea London +44 (0) Greenfields Communications +44 (0) (0) About Rosy Lee Tea Rosy Lee Tea is a quintessentially British brand that supplies premium black Kenyan/Assam blended tea in gift tins, cartons, envelopes and loose teabags. Our tea not only tastes smashing but looks good on the shelf too. Rosy Lee Tea so named because of the cockney rhyming slang term a cup of Rosy Lee for the classic and much-loved British cup of tea is the creation of born-and-bred Londoner Lorraine Rogers. Lorraine couldn t find anything inherently British that captured the experience of London today to give visiting friends as a gift to take home and so Rosy Lee Tea London was born. We

7 sell our tea in London and across the world, and have extended our product range to include classic teapots and original tea towels.