There are a couple of lines of dialogue in the Ocean’s Eleven remake that have always puzzled me. Don Cheadle’s character discovers a problem with the heist plan and in explaining the issue, ends with the phrase “…we’re in Barney.”
The others look at him, uncomprehending. He explains: “Barney. Barney Rubble. Trouble!”
It’s a couple of throwaway lines, but they’ve bothered me since the first time I watched the movie and have only become more irksome with repeated viewings. Today, however, the mystery was solved.
What is happening in that scene is that Cheadle’s character is using something called “Cockney rhyming slang.” According to this website:
Rhyming Slang phrases are derived from taking an expression which rhymes with a word and then using that expression instead of the word. For example the word “look” rhymes with “butcher’s hook”. In many cases the rhyming word is omitted – so you won’t find too many Londoners having a “bucher’s hook” at this site, but you might find a few having a “butcher’s”.
Not only is this type of slang fun to use, it can make whatever you are saying completely unintelligible. I love it!
T. Keith Edmunds
