Talk:on one's tod

"or possibly alone"

This seems nonsensical. The basic use of rhyming slang is to substitute the rhyming phrase, or the first part of it, for the word that provides meaning. Hence "on your tod" = "on your own". On the other hand, "on your alone" wouldn't make any sense. — Smjg (talk) 15:03, 17 July 2024 (UTC)

Connection between Tod and solitude

I'm not sure why we need the portion in the etymology about theories to explain this. While interesting, it makes it sound as though somebody has randomly assumed such a connection and is trying to figure out what it is. I don't get the impression that rhyming slang terms normally derive from a substantive connection with the meaning; rather, it seems they're usually arbitrarily picked phrases that rhyme with the word denoting the meaning. For instance, I don't suppose "apples and pears" derives from any substantive connection between fruit and staircases?

Maybe there are few rhyming slang terms where there is indeed a substantive connection which may have contributed to the coinage. But in such cases, I would probably expect the etymology to indicate it as an additional connection, rather than using language that suggests that such connection is necessary for a rhyming slang term to exist. I suppose it's straightforward to amend it to this effect, but I'm wondering if there's any source for the supposed connections. @Mihia, can you enlighten on where you got the theories you added from? — Smjg (talk) 17:10, 17 July 2024 (UTC)