 Basically, rhyming slang consists of a pair of associated words, where the second associated word rhymes with the word intended. In this case, Mickey is associated with Mickey Mouse, and Mouse rhymes with house, which is the intended word. In speech, it suffices to use the first word of the associated pair. I went to my Mickey simply means I went to my house. The origins of cognate rhyming slang are uncertain. One idea proposes that this slang originated in the marketplace. The vendors could communicate without the customers knowing what was being said. Of course, you would not want your customers to know that you were going to lower your prices in ten minutes. Other stories say that it originated in the prisons, so that inmates could communicate without the guards understanding what was said. Some slang words have more than one meaning, for example, iron. Iron tank can be a bank, whereas iron hoof denotes a homosexual, where hoof rhymes with poof, which is a specific English expression for homosexuals.