To bring a few threads together on Cockney Rhyming slang.
Growing up after WWII I knew that a Mae West was a life jacket, long before I knew who Mae West was, and even longer before I realised why. Life vests are invariably known as Life Jackets in UK so we are unlikely to have made the rhyming connection, though someone else might have. I agree with the bosom theory, though if they were officially known as Life Vests in the forces, then Mav could still be correct.
On "taters in the mould" (reverting to UK spelling, I used a US dictionary looking up the meanings of mold/mould last time), my introduction to that and many other CRS phrases was via my father and grandfather, about 45 years ago. They were both from the East End of London, though not born within the sound of Bow Bells. And "taters in the mould" is listed in my 1969 CRS dictionary and on many Googled sites. Yoda is right that most CRS phrases have a natural rythmic feel though there are other examples of long and awkward phrases (tumble (down the sink)=drink) and of single words (Aris(totle)=bottle). Since the phrases are usually shortened, the original awkwardness doesn't matter that much. But many of the phrases sound contrived to me anyway. (Tumble down the sink, grumble and grunt
yes, it's rude,..)
You may be interested in this site:
http://www.surflondon.co.uk/HTML/sections.php3?op=viewarticle&artid=211 which has other London slang as well.
They (and other sites) mention multilevel CRS in which the original CRS word gets rerhymed.
So Arse => Bottle and Glass => Bottle =>Aristotle => Aris => April in Paris => April.
I have not heard that one in real life but I have heard Bottle => Aristotle => Aris => Plaster of Paris => Plaster (for drink) and could that be the derivation of Plastered for drunk?
There are many CRS phrases which are in common use in UK English, most people are unaware of the origins.
