noun General Slang

North And South

/ˌnɔːθ ən ˈsaʊθ/ · noun · slang

Cockney for mouth — 'north and south' rhymes with mouth, as in 'shut your north and south'.

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Definitions

1

By extension, talk, cheek, or back-chat coming out of someone's mouth.

“Less of the north and south, son.”
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2

The mouth. 'North and south' rhymes with 'mouth', and unusually the phrase is often kept in full rather than clipped.

“Shut your north and south for once and listen.”
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3

Used of the mouth in eating, drinking, or kissing.

“He poured the pint straight down his north and south.”
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North And South In A Sentence

She's got a right north and south on her, never stops.
Keep your north and south shut and we won't get caught.
A bit of that pie went down the north and south a treat.

Origin & Usage

Late-Victorian East End rhyming slang on 'mouth'; the geographical pairing reflects Cockney's fondness for ready-made opposites as rhymes, part of the body-and-speech vocabulary in the London tradition Hotten documented from 1859.

Tags #cockney#rhyming#british#uk#body

People Also Ask

What does north and south mean in Cockney?

It means the mouth. 'South' rhymes with 'mouth'.

Is north and south shortened?

Usually it's kept in full, as in 'shut your north and south', because neither half alone would carry the meaning.

Where did north and south come from?

From Victorian-era East End speech, using the natural opposites 'north' and 'south' to rhyme with 'mouth'.

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