Posted by Andrew Craig-Bennett on April 27, 2007 at 00:31:26 from 195.93.21.70 user ACB.
In Reply to: Re: Quotation from S & A Series-"missis/missus" posted by Andrew Craig-Bennett on April 27, 2007 at 00:23:45:
Come to think of it, the whole phrase, (from memory)...
"Keep the chynge!" and turning to Port and Starboard, he added, "There ain't none!" ...
is Cockney.
In generic East Anglian, it would have been, "There ent any!"
It was proverbial amongst Thames barge crews at that time, according to Hervey Benham, recounting his voyage with Joe Mumford aboard the "Leslie West", that Cockney shopkeepers always short-changed them, which adds a bit of context to the joke, perhaps.