Why is 3 called a carpet?

Some people have said that a three-month sentence was called a carpet because it took that long to make one in the prison workshop, but the rhyming slang joke on an existing usage makes more sense. (It doesn't ever seem to have meant so long a sentence as three years.)
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Why does carpet mean three?

In criminal, or prison, slang dating from the nineteenth century, the term 'carpet stretch' meant three months' imprisonment; three months was reputedly the length of time required by an inmate to to weave a carpet or mat for his cell in the prison workshop.
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What does a carpet mean in Cockney?

Carpet is Cockney Rhyming Slang for 3! Walnut Whip.
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Why do they call 300 a carpet?

The term has since the early 1900s been used by bookmakers and horse-racing, where carpet refers to odds of three-to-one, and in car dealing, where it refers to an amount of £300.
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Why do Cockneys call 25 a pony?

Whilst this is not cemented in fact, the widely held belief is that the terms came from soldiers returning to Britain from India. Old Indian rupee banknotes had animals on them and it is said that the 500 rupee note had a monkey on it and the 25 rupee featured a pony.
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Carpet Rug Mat - What's the Difference?



Why is a pound called a nicker?

Not pluralised for a number of pounds, eg., 'It cost me twenty nicker..' From the early 1900s, London slang, precise origin unknown. Possibly connected to the use of nickel in the minting of coins, and to the American slang use of nickel to mean a $5 dollar note, which at the late 1800s was valued not far from a pound.
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Why is money called Lolly?

Simply so Where does the Word lolly for money come from? short for lollipop, 1854. Also, in mid-20c. British slang, “money.”
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Why do Cockneys call a house a drum?

Drum and Bass is Cockney slang for Place.

The word drum was originally used to describe a room or prison cell or even a road. It then became confined to only mean the home. Finally this was rhymed with Drum and Bass giving its modern interpretation.
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Why is 500 called a monkey?

The term was coined by British soldiers returning from India where the 500 rupee note of that era had a picture of a monkey on it. They used the term monkey for 500 rupees and on returning to England the saying was converted to sterling to mean £500.
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Why is a watch called a kettle in Cockney rhyming?

The term means watch, which stemmed from a 'fob' watch which was a pocket watch attached to the body with a small chain. The kettle used to boil on the hob of a stove… hence the rhyme.
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Why is a house called a gaff?

Then there's the British slang meaning of gaff for the place where one lives (“come round my gaff for a coffee”), which is almost certainly derived from the use of gaff in the eighteenth-century to mean a fair, and later a cheap music-hall or theatre (as in the infamous penny gaff) and which probably comes from the ...
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Why is your belly called a derby?

"Derby Kell" is old Cockney rhyming slang for belly ("Derby Kelly"). "Blow out your kite" means "fill your stomach". It uses the word kite (also kyte), a dialect word, originally derived from an Old English word for the womb which, by extension, came to mean the belly.
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What does Tommy Tank mean?

Tommy Tank is Cockney slang for Bank.

More slang for bank. More definitions for Tommy Tank.
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What is a pony in Cockney?

Pony is Cockney slang for 25 pounds.
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What is a tenner in Cockney slang?

Cockney Money Slang

The first things you gotta learn are that five pounds is a fiver, and ten pounds is a tenner. Then you gotta know the key money values: £20 is a Score, £25 is a Pony, £100 is a Ton, £500 is a Monkey, and £1000 is a Grand. Here's our list of terms from the dictionary that are money-related.
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What does 10 bags mean in money?

A tenbagger is an investment that appreciates in value 10 times its initial purchase price.
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Why is money called cheese?

Meaning: Slang term for money. Derived from the fact Americans on welfare used to receive cheese as part of their benefits. Explanation: This well-known American phrase was born at the end of the Second World War.
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Why is 1000 called a rack?

Originally, a Rack was a stack of $100 bills that total $10,000,but due to the frequency of the use of Rack in songs like 'Racks on Racks' and *'Rack City', most people refer to $1,000 as a Rack.
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Why is money called bread?

The origin of “Bread” as a name for Money comes from the English Cockney Rhyming Slang term, “Bread and Honey” meaning Money. The term dough could be derived as a further slang term from Bread.
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Why is a cell called a Peter?

Cell (1800s). Originated from the old slang 'peter', for portmanteau (a trunk or a box), the term was applied to the box-like qualities of a cell) A black peter was a punishment cell, usually a very dark one. Associated peters were cells with at least two prisoners in them.
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Why does taters meaning cold?

slang Cold. The phrase comes from rhyming slang in which "taters (potatoes) in the mould" rhymes with "cold." Primarily heard in UK.
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Why is the toilet called the khazi?

Khazi. Another slightly dated alternative word to the toilet, 'khazi' (also spelt karzy, kharsie or carzey) is derived from the low Cockney word 'carsey', meaning a privy. It has its roots in the nineteenth century, but gained popular usage during the twentieth century.
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What Is A Lady Godiva in Cockney?

Cockney rhyming slang for a fiver is a 'Lady Godiva', and the group the Commodores are best-known for their song 'Three Times A Lady'. 5.
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What does let's make some bees and honey mean?

bees and honey (uncountable) (Cockney rhyming slang) money.
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What is 10 bob in Cockney rhyming slang?

Ten Bob is Cockney Rhyming Slang for 50 pence!
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