Cockney Rhyming Slang is a form of phrase construction used in the Cockney dialect of London where a word is replaced by a phrase that rhymes with it. For example, "apples and pears" means "stairs". English is a structured language with strict grammar rules, while Cockney Rhyming Slang distorts meanings of words for communication between working class Londoners in the 19th century by using rhyming phrases. The Cockney dialect is also characterized by dropping "h" sounds and using double negatives.