Diarmuid:  Hello everybody and welcome to another Question and Answer of the Week. I'm Diarmuid. 

See you later, alligator... or do I mean crocodile?

 
Feifei:  大家好，我是冯菲菲。在《你问我答》节目中，我们回答大家提出的关于英语语言学习方面的问题。
 
Diarmuid:  So what have we got today then Feifei?
 
Feifei:  Today's question comes from Alice in Fujian, China. Her question is about
some phrases in English that rhyme.  
 
Diarmuid: Rhyming phrases.
 
Feifei:   压韵短语。
 
Diarmuid:  Let's hear from Alice:
 
Insert
 
Hello, I'm Alice from Fujian, China. Could you tell me why English people say 'see you later, alligator!' or 'in a while, crocodile'? Are there any other sentences like that in English? Thank you.
 
Feifei:    Well those were interesting phrases, weren't they?
 
Diarmuid:  Indeed they were. Let's repeat them for the listeners. See you later alligator.
 
Feifei:  See you later alligator.  
 
Diarmuid:  In a while crocodile.
 
Feifei:  In a while crocodile. So what do these expressions mean Diarmuid?
 
Diarmuid:  Well, they are both simply alternative ways of saying goodbye to someone.
 
Feifei:  But why do they say alligator 短吻鳄 and crocodile 鳄鱼? These are the names for animals.
 
Diarmuid:  Exactly. But the important thing about these words is not their meaning but their sound – the words rhyme with the beginning of the phrase.
 
Feifei: Rhyme 压韵。 也就是说几个单词的发音连在一起，很压韵。
 
Diarmuid:  That's right. Later rhymes with alligator and while rhymes with crocodile.
 
Feifei:  对于压韵短语来说，意思不重要，只要说起来上口、压韵就行。So why do English speakers use these kind of rhyming phrases?
 
Diarmuid:  Really they are just for fun. It would usually be young people or children who would use these kinds of rhymes.
 
STING
 
Feifei: Alice 想知道英语里有没有更多的压韵短语。Are there many more rhyming expressions in English?
 
Diarmuid:   Absolutely. We learn lots of these kinds of phrases in childhood. Let's hear some examples:
 
Insert
 
Easy-peasy lemon squeezy
What's the plan, Stan?
What's up, buttercup?
 
Feifei:  Well, I'm not sure what those phrases mean. Shall we go through them
together?
 
Diarmuid:  Good idea. Let's do the first one again. Easy-peasy lemon squeezy.
 
Feifei: Easy-peasy lemon squeezy.
 
Diarmuid:  That's it. Any idea what it means?
 
Feifei:  Does it mean easy or simple?
 
Diarmuid:  Exactly. Easy-peasy lemon squeezy means very easy.
 
Feifei:  What about the next one? What's the plan, Stan? What is this Stan word?
 
Diarmuid:  Stan is a boy's name. It's short for Stanley. So the phrase what's the plan, Stan is just a way of asking 'what are we going to do?'
 
Feifei:  I see. So what's the plan, Stan?
 
Diarmuid:  The plan is to look at another rhyming expression. What's up, buttercup?
 
Feifei:  What's up, buttercup? Buttercup 是毛莨，一种花；what’s up 的意思就是你好，怎样样。  
 
Diarmuid:  So what does the phrase mean?
 
Feifei:  Is it just a way to ask somebody what's happening?
 
Diarmuid:  That's right Feifei. That was easy, wasn't it?
 
Feifei: Easy-peasy lemon squeezy!
 
Diarmuid:  Ok. We've looked at some rhyming phrases.  
 
Feifei:   下面我们来一起学习一些压韵短语。注意这些压韵短语中使用了原词的某个部分，从而使其听起来很压韵。
 
Diarmuid:  Yes, the following words are examples of how we play with our language to create informal new words and meanings.
 
Feifei:  Let's hear some examples:
 
Insert
 
chick flick
lovey-dovey
hob-nob
itty-bitty
okey-dokey
 
Diarmuid:  Ok let's start with the first example. Chick-flick.
 
Feifei:  I know that one. 在《地道英语》里我们曾经介绍过这个词chick flick. Chick is another word for a girl and flick is another word for a film.
 
Diarmuid:  So a chick-flick is?
 
Feifei:  A film for girls.
 
Diarmuid:  Well done. Now what about the next word?
 
Feifei: Lovey-dovey.
 
Diarmuid: Lovey-dovey.
 
Feifei:  It has the word love in it so something to do with love?
 
Diarmuid:  Yes. Lovey-dovey means acting in a very loving way with your partner.
 
Feifei: Lovey-dovey 卿卿我我，情意绵绵。
 
Diarmuid:  Next one: hob-nob. Any ideas what that might mean?
 
Feifei:  No clue, I'm afraid. What does it mean?
 
Diarmuid:  I'll just tell you this one – hob-nob means to chat with somebody.
 
Feifei: Hob-nob 聊天。What about the next one? Itty-bitty.  
 
Diarmuid:  Here's a clue. Itty-bitty has the same meaning as teeny-weeny.
 
Feifei: Hmm, teeny-weeny. 这也是一个压韵短语。It sounds a bit like tiny meaning very small. Am I right?
 
Diarmuid:  Well done Feifei. Both itty-bitty and teeny-weeny mean very small.
 
Feifei:  And the last one – okey-dokey. That's an easy one.
 
Diarmuid:  You're right there Feifei. Okey-dokey just means ok.
 
Feifei: Okey-dokey. Ok.
 
Diarmuid:  That's all we have time for today folks.
 
Feifei:  如果你在英语学习中遇到任何难题，都可以发邮件到 questions.elt@bbc.co.uk 我们会在节目中回答你的问题。
 
Diarmuid: That's www.bbcukchina.com. We need to say goodbye now.
 
Feifei:   Okey-dokey. Goodbye everyone. See you later alligator.
 
Diarmuid:  In a while crocodile. Bye all! 

Diarmuid and Feifei look at how the animal kingdom plays its part in the English language.

This week we have a question about some funny phrases in English.

The key thing about these phrases is that they rhyme.

In English words that have the same or similar sound can be said to rhyme.

Here are some examples of words in English that rhyme:

• bed – head
• blue – you
• hello – yellow
• plastic – fantastic
• coffee - toffee
• jacket - packet