The Onion on U.K. slang

James Harbeck jharbeck at SYMPATICO.CA
Wed Nov 21 00:12:16 UTC 2007


>It seems more likely that "Jack Dash" comes from "splash" than "slash" (?)

Not to me, not directly, anyway. "Slash" was my automatic inference
for rhyming slang. "Slash" is a well-established term for "urinate"
-- immediately familiar to me. I've never heard "splash" for
"urinate" that I can recall. I imagine it may well be a basis for
"slash," but I'm not aware of its being in use per se.

I would have expected "Jack Flash" for a rhyme there, though -- I
wonder why "Jack Dash" was preferred.

James Harbeck.

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