The words of the Nursery Rhyme, 'Nelly Bligh...' have been suggested by Roger Martin. Little is known about the origins of the rhyme, but we believe it originated in England. We can find no trace of who might have been 'Nelly Bligh' but strangely enough the term 'Nelly Blighs' was used in Cockney rhyming slang meaning eyes. Cockney Rhyming slang The words "Nelly Blighs" meaning 'Eyes' are derived from Cockney Rhyming slang which originated in London. Cockneys were a close community and had a suspicion of strangers and a dislike of the Police (they still do!) Cockneys developed a language of their own based roughly on a rhyming slang - it was difficult for strangers to understand as invariably the second noun would always be dropped. Apples and Pears (meaning stairs) would be abbreviated to just 'apples', for instance, "watch your step on the apples". The phrase "Use your Nellys" would have meant keep your eyes open for any problems. |