List of slang terms for police officers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Many slang terms for police officers exist. These are often used by the public rather than the police themselves, but not all are considered offensive.

The precise sociological and etymological provenance of some of these terms is significant:

  • 5-0: Slang for police officers and/or a warning that police are approaching. Derived from the television show Hawaii 5-0.
  • Riff Raff: A northern English term, mostly used by black people from Manchester, due to the police's link with racism.
  • Bear: Short for "Smokey the Bear" for the hats U.S. state police wear. "Bear bait" is a reference to speeders, who may draw the attention of the police and allow slightly slower traffic to exceed the speed limit in their wake.
  • Bizzies: Common Liverpool slang term for the police, it was invented as the police where always too "busy" to help.
  • Blue Meanies: This is a 1960s hippy slang term for the police, it was used in the Beatles film the Yellow Submarine, although many viewers may not have realised its significance.
  • Bobby: This is not now widely used in Britain, though it can occur with a mixture of affection and slight irony in the phrase "village bobby", referring to the local community policeman. It is derived from Robert Peel (Bobby being the usual nickname for Robert), the founder of the Metropolitan Police.
  • Bottles: Cockney rhyming slang for Coppers (see below), from Bottles and Stoppers.
  • Boys in blue: A reference to the blue uniform worn by some officers. This term is particularly prevalent in New York City, used to refer to the NYPD.
  • Bulls: An American term usually used to refer to railroad police but may also indicate regular police officers.
  • Cop: While commonly believed to be an acronym for Constable On Patrol, the term refers to "one who captures or snatches". This word first appeared in the early 18th century, and can be matched with the word "cap", which has the same meaning and whose etymology can be traced to the Latin word 'capere'. (The word retains this meaning in other contexts: teenagers "cop a feel" on a date, and they have also been known to "cop an attitude".) Variation: Copper. It is also believed that the term Copper was the original, unshortened word, representing the copper badges officers used to wear at the time of origin.
  • Filth: a term in widespread use in London.
  • (Name of city)'s Finest: Used in either admiration, or slightly derisive irony. In New York City, the term has been adapted to other civil servants, such as "New York's Bravest" (the Fire Department) and "New York's Boldest" (the Department of Correction).
  • Flatfoot: A term that refers to the large amount of walking that a police officer would do, thus causing flat feet.
  • Fuzz: This North American term first appeared in the 1920s and gained popularity in the 1930s. It surfaced in Britain in the 1960s. The word has no clear origin.
  • The Gaver: Cockney slang for the police - unknown origin - London.
  • Heavy or Heavies: Cockney rhyming slang for the Flying Squad, from the Heavy Mob, (see also Sweeney).
  • Mama (Maman in South): Hindi (Malayalam in South) word which means uncle. Sarcastic reference to a police man.
  • Member: Used by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to refer to fellow Mounties in place of the usual "officer" or "constable" (or equivalent) in other police forces.
  • Mr. Plod, P.C. Plod or Plodder: a British term that arose from the Noddy books by Enid Blyton, in which Mr. Plod was the village policeman.
  • Pandu Hawaldar: Indian constabulary (and not officers) were recruited mostly from village areas. Pandu Ram was a common name in the villages. Hawaldar is a police sergeant.
  • Peeler: This also comes from Robert Peel (see 'Bobby'); it has largely disappeared in Britain, but is sometimes used in Northern Ireland.
  • Pigs: This term was widespread during the 19th century, disappeared for a while, but reappeared during the early 20th century, and was used during the 1960s in the underground hippy culture. Oz magazine showed a picture of a pig dressed as a policeman on a front cover. [1]
  • Po-po: A term used commonly by North American youth and rap artists. The term most likely is just an abbreviation of the word police.
  • Rashers: British slang derived from pigs?bacon?rashers.
  • Rozzers: A British term. Origin unclear; possibly from the Hebrew word "chazer", meaning "pig", or may be a corruption of Robert Peel.
  • Scuffers: An old British term
  • Sweeney: Cockney rhyming slang for the Flying Squad, from Sweeney Todd, inspiring the television series The Sweeney, (see also Heavy).
  • Smokey: A term from the CB Radio fad of the 1970s. See "Bear" above.
  • The Thin Blue Line: Used to describe the role of the police in being the barrier between civilized society and anarchy, inspiring a TV series and a documentary of the same name. This has led to policemen involved in entrapping gays being ironically described as "The Thin Blue Jeans".

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