General
raspberry tart
What does raspberry tart mean?
A fart. 'Raspberry tart' rhymes with 'fart', and the term is clipped to 'raspberry', which is why blowing a rude noise with the tongue is called 'blowing a raspberry'.
"Someone let off a right raspberry tart in the lift."
Origin
Victorian-era Cockney rhyming slang; 'raspberry tart' for 'fart' is the documented source of the wider English idiom 'to blow a raspberry', with the rhyming-slang derivation noted by lexicographers tracing London street talk back to Hotten's 1859 dictionary tradition.
Frequently asked questions
What does raspberry tart mean?
It's Cockney rhyming slang for fart. 'Tart' rhymes with 'fart', and it's shortened to 'raspberry'.
Is 'blowing a raspberry' related?
Yes. The everyday phrase 'blow a raspberry' comes straight from this rhyming slang — 'raspberry tart' for 'fart'.
Where did raspberry tart come from?
From Victorian London's Cockney patter, the same tradition catalogued by Hotten in 1859, where rude bodily slang was a rich seam.
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Vocabulary Flow — saved to your collection.
