noun General Slang

Custard And Jelly

/ˌkʌstəd ən ˈdʒɛli/ · noun · slang

Cockney for telly — 'custard and jelly' rhymes with telly, clipped to the 'custard'.

0

Definitions

1

The television. 'Custard and jelly' rhymes with 'telly', and is clipped to 'custard', dropping the rhyme.

“Stick the custard and jelly on, the match is starting.”
by community
0
2

By extension, an evening spent in front of the box.

“We had a quiet night in front of the custard and jelly.”
by community
0
3

Clipped to 'custard', the act of watching TV or what's on it.

“Nothing but rubbish on the custard tonight.”
by community
0

Custard And Jelly In A Sentence

Turn the custard and jelly down, I'm on the phone.
He falls asleep in front of the custard every night.
There's a good film on the custard and jelly later.

Origin & Usage

Twentieth-century East End rhyming slang on 'telly', coined after the television set became a fixture of the working-class front room; the homely pudding pairing is typical of food-based Cockney rhymes within the tradition Hotten first recorded in 1859.

Variants custard
Tags #cockney#rhyming#british#uk#entertainment

People Also Ask

What does custard and jelly mean?

It's Cockney rhyming slang for telly, the television. 'Jelly' rhymes with 'telly', shortened to 'custard'.

Where did custard and jelly come from?

From twentieth-century East End speech, after the telly became a fixture of the front room; the pudding pairing gave an easy rhyme.

Is custard and jelly still used?

It survives in pub and family patter, though it's more heritage than everyday now.

Comments 0