What it means
Cockney rhyming slang for a telephone, usually used for a bit of banter. Dog and bone rhymes with telephone, so get on the dog and bone just means pick up the phone and ring someone. Proper old East End flavour, but you’ll still hear it in London pubs or on telly when someone wants to sound cheeky.
Usage examples
"Oi, jump on the dog and bone and call your mum, yeah? She’s been on my case all morning, ringing like I owe her a tenner."
"My uncle in Bow still answers the dog and bone with hello love regardless of who is calling, the Amazon delivery line, the doctor surgery, the cousin from Australia, the same warm greeting at all hours of the day across the entire week of conversations."
"Get on the dog and bone and ring your mum, she has been worried since the news about the rail strike in Kent, my partner reminds me at half past seven on a Sunday evening from the kitchen with the kettle whistling on the gas hob across the room."
"Hold on, I'll get on the dog and bone and see if Kev's still coming down the pub."
"My nan still calls it the dog and bone, proper dead serious an' all, like mobiles never happened."
Where it comes from
It’s straight-up Cockney rhyming slang from London. Dog and bone rhymes with telephone, then the rhyming bit became the playful stand-in. It grew with everyday phone use in the late 19th and early 20th century and stuck around as a cheeky bit of East End colour that still gets a run-out for laughs.
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