brown tip 🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤 brown tip 😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫 brown tip 😮💨😮💨😮💨😮💨😮💨😮💨 brown tip 😩😩😩😩😩😩😩 brown tip 🫣🫣🫣🫣🫣 brown tip 🫠🫠🫠🫠 brown tip 😞😞😞😞😞😞 brown tip 🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧 brown tip 🥴🥴🥴🥴🥴🥴 brown tip <3
I’ve seen some confusion in Hobie fics around the word “innit” and I think I’ve figured out why: aside from general confusion about the use of the word, I believe some people are occasionally mixing it up with “in’t”.
So let’s dive into it!
Innit - isn’t it
Can be used at the end of a sentence to make it a question or for emphasis.
E.g. “That’s a load of rubbish, innit?” Or “I’m Spider-Man, innit.” (The latter is an example of emphasis. It’s not grammatically correct but using slang isn’t always about being grammatically correct).
“Innit” can also be used in the middle and at the beginning of sentences (in place of “isn’t it”).
E.g. “Innit lovely out here?” Or “You told me that a Vulture variant was loose in Holborn, but innit true you’ve been tellin’ porkies?”
In’t - contraction of “isn’t”
You can use “in’t” in place of “isn’t”.
E.g. “In’t that the guy who was in here earlier?” Or “That’s a metaphor for capitalism, in’t it?” (You could also use “innit” in the second example).
It can be a bit confusing to a non-English ear to distinguish between “innit” and “in’t”, especially when they’re spoken quickly. For example: if you think you’re hearing someone say something like “Innit that right?” (which would be saying “Isn’t it that right?”, then you’re probably actually hearing them say “In’t that right?”
But wait!
Couldn’t you just use “ain’t” instead of “in’t”?
Sure!
“Ain’t” is a very versatile contraction. It can mean: am not, are not, is not, have not, has not, do not, does not and did not.
E.g. “I ain’t a liar!” Or “He ain’t done his homework.” Or “Ain’t that the truth.” Or “It ain’t right.”
Fun facts:
The earliest records of “ain’t” are from the 1700’s but it was popularised by Dickens’ representation of Cockney dialect.
“In’t” originates from Northern England.
So why use “in’t” instead of “ain’t”?
Personal preference, innit?
And there you have it, a dive into the world of “innit”, “in’t” and “ain’t”!
As always, I’m not an expert, I just wanted to share the knowledge that I do have. There may be other ways to use these words, depending on what part of the country you come from, but this should cover the vast majority of them (if not maybe all of them)! Hopefully someone will find this helpful, informative or entertaining at the very least. I know a lot of this seems basic, but there are a lot of non-native English speakers in the fandom so I wanted to cover all my bases.
Let me know if there’s anything else you’d like me to cover and I’ll see what I can do! If you’re using “innit” or “in’t” in your writing but aren’t sure if you’re using it right, I’m happy to look over any sentences you’d like me to!
In a previous post I went into Cockney rhyming slang history and gave some tips on how to use it.
This is the second post in a series where I’ll give you some commonly used Cockney rhyming slang phrases, phrases that I find funny, as well as some phrases that I think would be useful for Spider-Verse fic writers specifically. Part 1 of this series can be found here.
So let’s get started on Part 2!
C-D
China Plate - Mate
E.g. “How are you, me old China?” Or “I’m meeting me old China at the pub later.”
Cobblers Awls - Balls
E.g. “Ooh! Got him right in the cobblers!”
It can also be used to mean “Nonsense”. E.g. “What a load of cobblers!” is another way of saying “What a load of nonsense!”
Cream Crackered - Knackered
E.g. “Sorry mate, I’m creamed!” Or “I’m cream crackered!”
Custard and Jelly - Telly (Television)
E.g. “Shh! I’m watching the custard.”
Daisy Roots - Boots
E.g. “Hang on, I need to put my daisies on!”
Dicky Bird - Word
E.g. “Not a dicky bird, mate.”
Another example of where you usually use the whole phrase. Also, “word” can also mean “a brief chat”. E.g. “Can I have a dicky bird?”
Dog and Bone - Phone
E.g. “You know what, give me a call on the old dog and bone and we’ll sort it out then.”
Duck and Dive - Skive
E.g. “Let’s duck!” Or “I gotta duck.”
Skive means to avoid work, usually by leaving early, similar to what Americans might call “playing hooky”.
Dustbin Lid - Kid
E.g. “How’s the dustbin lid?”
As mentioned in Part 1, it’s good to keep in mind that there can be multiple Cockney rhyming slang phrases for the same word, as well as multiple Cockney rhyming slang phrases that start with the same word. For more information, see Part 1.
As always, I’m not an expert; a true Cockney would know far more than I do. I just want to share the knowledge that I have. I hope someone will find this helpful, informative, or entertaining at the very least.
I’ve got more Cockney rhyming slang phrases coming, but if there’s any other areas of British slang you’d like me to go into, let me know and I’ll see what I can do!
Happy writing and happy speaking!
My other British slang posts: Cockney Rhyming Slang, Cockney Rhyming Slang Phrases Part 1, British Police Slang, Terms of Endearment, Innit VS In’t - a PSA