![]() ![]() It comes from the practice of police officers carrying a copy of the bill of parliament which allowed them to make arrests-later on in the 19 th Century. ![]() It’s not that widely used today, but if only because of the popularity of the TV show, most everyone in Britain will know what you mean by the bill. This was popularized by the old police soap opera of the same name, though the term long predates that. It’s so ubiquitous that we have lost track of its original origin.Īnother term for the police in Britain is “the bill”. We aren’t entirely sure how the term came to be, though it may also have derived from the Old French caper which meant “to seize”. Constables in the 18 th Century were referred to as coppers, perhaps from the word cap meaning arrest. N fact, the British slang predates the American term by some time. Though it is universally, and correctly, recognized “cop” as primarily an American term, the British were the first to refer to the police as coppers. We would be remiss not to include the slang term “cop” in this list. They were called the law from the earliest point that the police existed, though when exactly this first happened is not clear. “We’d better keep a watch out in case the law comes by,” for example. The law today remains a common slang term for police, such as in the famous Clash song “I Fought the Law”. Though this one might not quite register as slang, or even as uniquely British, the convention of referring to the police as “the law” did actually originate in Britain. It’s really not clear where this term comes from or how it came to mean the police, though it has been in use since at least the 20 th Century. “I can’t drive, the filth took away my licence,” for example. It’s used mostly in London, again, though it has since spread across Britain to many other regions. This one is not as widely used as pig, though generally it’s still pretty well understood by most people in Britain. Next we have another very plainly derogatory slang term for the police, the filth. Our earliest attested use of “pig” meaning police comes from 1874 in a London slang dictionary, and it has spread all over ever since. So, “pig” is a very common slang term for police in Britain as it is in the U.S. This is as true today as it has been since the police were first established. Those who are inclined to refer to the police using slang terms also tend to be inclined to dislike the police to some degree. Unsurprisingly, many of the slang terms for the police tend to be a bit insulting or derogatory. ![]() Though it’s only used today in parts of the south of England, it’s still widely understood.Īgain, this one comes from the name Robert Peel-it’s simply an altering of the name Peel. The thing about peeler, too, is that most people in Britain tend to understand what it means if only because of its origin. It is not very common at all nowadays, but it is still used to some degree. Next we have peeler, which is doubtless the most archaic term on this list. This one was in widespread use by around the middle of the 19 th Century, though it likely originated shortly after the police were established. “Rozzer” is another slang way of saying Robert. “Call the rozzers, we’ve been burgled,” for instance.Īs you may have guessed, this is another one that is derived from the name of the man who originally invented the police force, This is just a general slang term for the police, and could be an individual police officer or a way to refer to the entire police force. ![]() Rozzer is another slang term for the police which, while somewhat archaic, is definitely still used in large parts of the country. “Bobby” is simply a shortening of “Robert”. This originated after the police force was established by Robert Peel in the early 19 th Century. “Can you run down the street and see if you can find a bobby?” for example. In terms of actual use, it tends more often to be a southern English slang term than anything else. Next we have bobby which, while not universally used, is probably the most universal slang term for police that you’ll hear in Britain.Įveryone understands what is meant by a bobby. It comes from the animated series Top Cat, funnily enough, where the police officer character in the show is called Officer Dibble. “Look out, there’s a dibble van over there,” for example. You won’t hear it much outside the north of England, and even then, it’s mostly confined to the northwest-even Manchester specifically. While this one is quite broadly across Britain, it really is quite regionally specific. First we have dibble, one of the more common slang terms for the police in the north of England. ![]()
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