Page "Rhyming slang" Paragraph 13

Many examples have passed into common usage.

Some substitutions have become relatively widespread in England in their contracted form.

" To have a butcher's ", meaning to have a look, originates from " butcher's hook ", an S-shaped hook used by butchers to hang up meat, and dates from the late 19th century but has existed independently in general use from around the 1930s simply as " butchers ".

Similarly, " use your loaf ", meaning " use your head ", derives from " loaf of bread " and also dates from the late 19th century but came into independent use in the 1930s ..