Pig's EarPig's Ear : PhrasesMeaning: 'Pig's ear' is Cockney rhyming slang for beer. 'A pig's ear' is a mess or muddle. Example: Origin: As an example of Cockney rhyming slang, 'pig's ear' is one of the earliest. It appears in D. W. Barrett's Life & Work among Navvies, 1880: "Now, Jack, I'm goin' to get a tiddley wink of pig's ear." 'A pig's ear' is also British in origin, but is a mid 20th century phrase which isn't related to the rhyming slang term. This derives from the old proverb 'you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear', which dates from the 16th century. Phrases Index
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