Browse phrases beginning with: [A][B][C][D][E][F][G][H][I][J][K][L][M][N][O][P][Q][R][S][T][U,V][W][X,Y,Z] Meaning Urinate. Jimmy Riddle = piddle. Origin Cockney rhyming slang. The term is mentioned in Partridge's A dictionary of slang and unconventional English, 1937, where it is listed as being 'late 19th century'. Many rhyming slang terms that refer to names derive from real people - the celebrities of their day. A recent (1980s) example is a 'desmond' (a second-class degree - a 2:2, derived from Desmond Tutu). From the late 19th century we have 'on your tod', which refers to the American jockey 'Tod' (James) Sloan. It's not likely that Jimmy Riddle was a real person. If he was then it would be surprising that he were well enough known to have had a phrase coined in his honour only for any records of his existence to be now missing. Several 'Jimmy' phrases were coined in the 19th century. For example,
These use the name Jimmy as a generic man's name - much as Londoners and others now use John, and that's probably how Jimmy Riddle derived too. |