london.localmean.com/have-a-butchers
have a butcher’s
hav uh BUTCH-uhz · /hæv ə ˈbʊtʃ.əz/
Local meaning
Have a look.
The full rhyme is “butcher’s hook”, but rhyming slang commonly drops the rhyming second word.
Examples in context
- Have a butcher’s at this photo.
- Let me have a quick butcher’s.
How it is used
The shortened form is the one most likely to appear naturally.
Curious, friendly, playful.
Inviting someone to look at something.
Informal conversation.
The phrase is not about a literal butcher.
Spelling and scope
Traditional Cockney expression that also survives in wider British informal speech.
- Search forms
butcher's hook
Common search forms stay discoverable without claiming that every London community uses one spelling.
Common patterns
- have a butcher’s
- take a butcher’s
- quick butcher’s
Read next
All words →Evidence and further reading
Sources support the definition, history, or usage layer. Local review remains welcome.
- Talking Cockney: London’s original dialectLondon Museum
London history, rhyming-slang method, changing usage, and examples.
- Who are the Cockneys?London Museum
Context for Cockney identity and East End history.