Cockney rhyming slang - tea strainers

A recent point of interest on BBC Radio 2's Ken Bruce Show has been about Cockney rhyming slang for shoes being "tea drinkers", despite the more valiant attempt of listeners to get a meaning from this, my genetically Cockney mind said that the person who said this has their rhyming slang in a tangle.

Tea strainers is indeed Cockney rhyming slang, so here's a pair

If you do choose to buy a pair of tea strainers and you are being served by a Cockney you are likely to get a pair of trainers and not a pair of tea strainers. As interchangeable objects you may be on tricky ground, whilst it may be possible to make a cup of tea in a pair of Reeboks, I'd definitely struggle getting my size 10s in a tea strainer.