noun General Slang

Net

/nɛt/ · noun · slang

Cockney back-slang for 'ten' — the top of the coded counting line on a barrow.

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Definitions

1

Ten of a unit — pence, items, or minutes — depending on the patter.

“Give it a net minutes and the lunch crowd'll be on us.”
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2

Ten. From 'ten' reversed to 'net', part of the back-slang counting system (eno, owt, erth, rouf, evif... net) that let costermongers call numbers and prices in code.

“A net for the lot, that's my final word, take it.”
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3

Used in combined coded pricing so a partner is quoted one number while the customer hears another.

“Tell him a net, but I'll do it to you for rouf.”
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Net In A Sentence

A net apples for a yennep? You're robbing yourself, mister.
She counted them out, net to a basket, neat as you like.
Net years on that barrow and he never once called a price straight.

Origin & Usage

Cockney costermonger back-slang of the 1840s ('ten' reversed), part of the coded number system Henry Mayhew (1851) transcribed and Hotten (1859) listed, used so sellers could discuss prices openly in front of buyers.

Variants nett
Tags #cockney#back-slang#british#uk#numbers

People Also Ask

What does net mean in back-slang?

It means ten — 'ten' said backwards in Cockney costermonger back-slang.

What are the other back-slang numbers?

They follow the reversal pattern, for example erf or erth (three), rouf (four), and net (ten); strings of them formed coded prices.

Why count in back-slang?

So traders could agree real prices, margins and change among themselves while the customer heard only nonsense.

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