Rosie Lee

English

WOTD – 18 February 2025

Etymology

From Rosie (“female name”) +‎ Lee (“surname, or female or male given name”), chosen for its rhyme with tea.^[1]^[2]

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌɹəʊzi ˈliː/
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˌɹoʊzi ˈli/
Audio (General American): (file)
Rhymes: -iː
Hyphenation: Ros‧ie Lee

Noun

Rosie Lee (usually uncountable, plural Rosie Lees)

(Cockney rhyming slang, originally military slang) Synonym of tea (“(uncountable) a drink made by infusing dried leaves or buds of the tea plant (Camellia sinensis) in hot water; (countable) a cup of this drink”) [from early 20th c.]
Synonyms: (ellipsis) Rosie, (ellipsis) Rosy; see also Thesaurus:tea

I’ll put the kettle on and make us a cup of Rosie Lee.
- 1929 July, J[ohn] B[oynton] Priestley, “Mr. Oakroyd on t’Road”, in The Good Companions, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers, published 1929, →OCLC, book 1, section III, page 133:
  "'Ow about a drop o' Rosie Lee?" said Mr. Joby Jackson. He was very found of this queer rhyming slang, most of which must be omitted from any record of his talk because it is incomprehensible to ordinary people. Even Mr. Oakroyd, […] was sometimes puzzled. But he was not bewildered, of course, by any mention of the famous Rosie, and he was more than ready for a drink of tea.
- 1944 February 24, “‘They march better on tea’”, in H. R. Tompkins, editor, The Stirling News-Argus, volume 64, number 26, Stirling, Ont.: H. R. Tompkins, →OCLC, page 5, column 3:
  Commandos march better on tea than on water. This fact has been demonstrated by an official test recently carried out in Great Britain. […] The "water platoons" made good use of their water bottles, but the "tea platoon" was the only one to finish the course intact. Which only goes to show that there must be something in the soldier's traditional liking for "a cup of rosie lee."
- 1973, May Hobbs, “The Arts and Crafts Department”, in Born to Struggle, 1st American edition, Plainfield, Vt.: Daughters, Inc., published 1975, →ISBN, page 133:
  'Sit in here a minute,' he says to them. 'I'll go and make the Rosy Lee.' When he had made the tea he brings it in, gets out the cards, and they start to play, carrying on until it is about half past three.
- 2007 July, Rhys Bowen [pseudonym; Janet Quin-Harkin], Her Royal Spyness, New York, N.Y.: Berkley Prime Crime, Berkley Books, published 2008, →ISBN, page 203:
  “[…] Nice cup of Rosie Lee?” he asked, using the Cockney tradition of rhyming slang.
- 2008, Alf Townsend, “Return to War-torn London”, in Blitz Boy: An Evacuee’s Story, Osney Mead, Oxford, Oxfordshire: ISIS Publishing, published 2009, →ISBN, pages 101–102:
  They all nodded sagely in agreement and carried on puffing away on their fags and drinking their Rosie Lees.
- 2016, Chris Graham, with Wendy Holden, “Spring 2015: Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, England”, in Five Minutes of Amazing: My Journey Through Dementia, London: Sphere, →ISBN, page 10:
  Seated at our map-covered dining table, Vicks and I drank umpteen cups of Rosy Lee as we worked out the best route to take me across seven provinces in Canada and through twenty-six US states, following the coastline as much as possible.

Alternative forms

Rosie Lea, rosie lee, Rosey Lee, Rosy Lee

Translations

synonym of tea — see tea

References

^ “Rosie Lee, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023.
^ “Rosie Lee, n.”, in Collins English Dictionary.