noun General Slang

Apples And Pears

/ˈæp.əlz ən ˈpeəz/ · noun · slang

Cockney rhyming slang for stairs — the textbook example everyone learns first.

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Definitions

1

Trotted out as the go-to example whenever someone explains what Cockney rhyming slang actually is.

“He started with 'apples and pears means stairs' like every tour guide ever.”
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2

The literal staircase in a house or building. 'Apples and pears' rhymes with 'stairs', and in true Cockney style it usually gets shortened to just 'apples'.

“Get up the apples and pears, your dinner's going cold.”
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3

Used more loosely to mean any flight of steps you have to climb, often with a groan about the effort.

“No lift again, so it's the apples all the way to the fourth floor.”
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Apples And Pears In A Sentence

Mind the cat when you're coming down the apples.
She fell down the apples and pears and twisted her ankle, poor cow.
Tourist asked me to 'speak Cockney' so I gave him apples and pears and walked off.

Origin & Usage

Classic East End London rhyming slang dating to at least the mid-1800s. It's the most quoted example of the form, possibly from old market-stall fruit displays stacked in tiers like steps.

Variants apples
Tags #cockney#rhyming#british#uk#london

People Also Ask

What does apples and pears mean in slang?

It's Cockney rhyming slang for stairs. 'Pears' rhymes with 'stairs', and Londoners often clip it to just 'apples'.

Why do people shorten it to just 'apples'?

Cockney slang usually drops the rhyming word so outsiders can't follow, so 'apples and pears' becomes 'apples' once you're in on it.

Is apples and pears still used in London?

It survives mostly as a nostalgic or jokey phrase now, but it's so famous it's basically shorthand for Cockney itself.

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