Cop Talk: A Dictionary of Police Slang [Paperback]

Lewis Poteet (Author), Aaron C. Poteet (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 21, 2000

The work of a father and son, this lively word-book presents the slang of law enforcementofficers,including prison guards, customs officers, and street cops. It includeslanguage gathered both from working and ex-cops and from printed sources.Itevokes the life of this key speech group in an America in crisis--the prideand solidarity, the shame of corruption and brutality, the horror and theexcitement of life on the front of the thin blue line. It is the sixth ofLewis Poteet's slang dictionaries, the others having come out of NovaScotia's South Shore, the Eastern Townships of Quebec, and the worlds ofhockey, cars and motorcycles, and aviation. These words and definitionsoffer raw material for anyone interested in language and culture, andentertainment and enlightenment for anyone fascinated by the spectacle ofthis living busy world of law and outlaws. The main body of the book consists of words and phrases from police slang, followed by a personal account of Aaron's attraction to and formation in police work, a set of stories from Aaron's first employment in such work, an essay on Canadian, British, and American regional police cultures by Lewis, and a Poteet Cop Talk Quiz to test your knowledge of the slang.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Authors Lewis J. Poteet and Aaron C. Poteet, father and son, also wroteHockey Talk, a dictionary of hockey slang. This book was born out of theson's lifelong fascination with police, crime and justice, and his father'slove of language.Lewis has written several slang word booksincluding Plane Talk, Car Talk and The South Shore Phrase Book. LewistaughtEnglish for 32 years at Concordia University in Montreal and in winter2000,was adjunct instructor in English at Austin (TX) Community College. Aaronholds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Northeastern University inBoston. He has walked the city streets at nightasneighborhood patrol, Guardian Angel, even vigilante. His obsessionwiththe street led to work in the most thankless profession known to man--lawenforcement, working as a Special Police Officer in Boston and then brieflywiththe Austin Police Department. He now works for a large corporation in fieldcollections.

Product Details

• Paperback: 164 pages
• Publisher: IUniverse (September 21, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595133754
• ISBN-13: 978-0595133758
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,966,762 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Get real, September 22, 2005

By 

M. Cloud "magialuna" (Deep woods, Ga.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cop Talk: A Dictionary of Police Slang (Paperback)

Oh puleaseee! Give me a break. Save your money. I was a police dispatcher, and this book is not some greatly awaited inside look into police vocabulary.

Most of what cops really say cannot be put in print, and they sure as heck wouldn't put it there for liability purposes.