h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

"Private Eye refers to the police in general (rather than individual officers)..."

I'm pretty sure 'private eye' refers to _private_ detectives or investigators, as opposed to those police-affiliated. I even think (although I have sought no supporting evidence for this theory) that the term "private eye" may be a shortening of "private investigator" ("Private-I", c.f. "Magnum P.I." for a fully shortened version) rather than referring to their role as someone hired to observe, on behalf of an individual.

Just Bob. I can *absolutely* assure you that Private Eye, the popular satirical magazine, refers to the police in general as 'Inspector Knacker'.

You corrected an incomplete sentence.

Oops. I thought the sentence looked extremely odd, but for some reason my brain just couldn't parse it correctly until you put me straight. I'm too used to forgiving big spelling and grammar mistakes, and my best guess was that this was one of those typos were several words are left out.

Normally either the Filth or the Fuzz depending on how charitable I am feeling toward them.

Though increasingly, I call them the five-oh in a mock "urban street" voice showing categoricaly that I have got old!

FB

You have got old what?

You know that faze where you are no longer part of youth culture but start mocking and resenting the young.

Damn them!

FB

I was wondering if "fuzz" might refer to pubic hair - it might be a euphemism to refer to the fuzz rather than the "c word" sexual organs near the fuzz.

'Bizzies' has made it as far as Derbyshire. 'Odd Squad' is another local one, dunno why though. 'Diplodicus', presumably a sideways take on 'plod' is also heard. 'Romans' is another one, but I don't think that's local, I think I've picked that one up from hanging with too many dirty hippies

One more I've just remembered - bluebottles, again from the colour of the uniform I imagine.

Icy has started another thread for 'jail names' http://h2g2.com/dna/h2g2/alabaster/F19585?thread=8298799&skip=0&show=20 and kindly linked back to this one which I have been meaning to find again because I've been wondering if we ever said 'the man'. Somehow 'the man' morphed from being just the polis to include the entire establishment as represented in the rebellious expression 'stickin it to the man'. ~jwf~

Given the nasty use of tasers in this part of the world I'm surprised the word hasn't been used to describe the Mounties (another word).

There's a camera at work that looks out over the bike racks because bikes were getting stolen during the day. Someone's written 'THE MAN --->' next to it.

Given the new law our Etonian overlords are rushing through Parliament regarding monitoring all emails etc I want to make it clear I always refer to the fine upstanding men and women of Her Majesty's Constablulary as Office, although I have heard that some enemies of the state refer to them as Babylon.

When I worked as a school resource officer I had an extra job investigating parents who registered their kids in our county schools who lived in other counties. It wasn't uncommon to visit 20 homes a night. Our code for investigations is Code 12. I got the sense that are dispatches got tired of me calling out at so many locations so quickly. One morning I walked into the school cafeteria and I heard the kids call out, "Twelve!" I started wondering if they were related to dispatches or something and had developed a nickname.

Twelve is now a common term for the police. I think it comes from the show Adam-12. It's the most common warning for there are cops here that we hear now.