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Not a sausage means nothing, zero or nil.
This idiom derives from the Cockney rhyming slang 'sausage and mash' which means 'cash'. Not a sausage originally meant to have no cash (money).
Examples of use:
1. Do you have any money left for a taxi?
No, not a sausage.
2. Is there any rice in the cupboard?
Nope. Not a sausage. I forgot to buy some.
A cockney is a native of the East End of London – especially someone born within the sound of Bow Bells, the bells of St Mary-le-Bow church in Cheapside, London.
Cockney is also a London dialect – especially of the East End of London.
In Cockney rhyming slang a pair of associated words, or sometimes one word, is used in place of the word you want to say. The Cockney rhyming slang expression rhymes with the word it has replaced.
Here are some common examples of Cockney rhyming slang:
- would you Adam and Eve it? – would you believe it?
- apples and pears – stairs
- they had a bull and cow – they had a row (argument)
- macaroni cheese – keys
- giraffe – laugh
- mickey mouse – house
In 2009, a cash machine operator in east London introduced Cockney rhyming slang to some of its cash machines. Customers were asked for their Huckleberry Finn (PIN) and how much sausage and mash (cash) they wanted!
Some people say that Cockney rhyming slang may have originated among market traders or thieves as a type of code: a way of speaking without customers or the police understanding what was being said.
Can you make up (invent) your own examples of rhyming slang?
Choose a word, think of word which rhymes with it, and see what you get 
Image by RUD66
About Angela Boothroyd
Is Cockney a dialect or an accent? Linguistically, it refers to the form of English spoken by this group. On the other hand a dialect is a particular form of a language that is peculiar to a specific region or social group. Here in the Philippines, there are many dialects. People from one district are often unable to understand the people in another district. But, Cockney is English and generally understood by any English-speaking person (within reason).
Robert Harland recently posted..Hazel Andrea-Stuart meets the Governor
Hello Robert,
I think Cockney is classed as a dialect, yes (an urban dialect).
Within languages there’s a dialect continuum where speakers of dialects close to the same end of the continuum can understand each other, but dialects from the extreme ends of the continuum are mutually unintelligible – I imagine this might apply to some of the dialects in the Philipines you refer to.
It’s a fascinating (and often complicated!) subject. Thank you for commenting