Bill, n.5 slang.
[Shortened f. old bill 2.]
The police-force; a policeman. Freq. preceded by the.
| [1939 H. Hodge Cab, Sir? xv. 217 ‘Old Bill’ is an extraordinarily profitable fare—someone who not only wants to go a long way, but also gives a big tip... ‘The Bill’ is the Metropolitan Police Cab-driver's licence—as distinct from the ordinary County Council driving licence.] 1969 Daily Mirror 10 Oct. 18/3 Bill, the police. 1975 Daily Express 4 Apr. 6/8, I listened to this banging and I said: ‘That's no cat, that's the Bill’. 1979 Brit. Jrnl. Photogr. 1 June 523/1 There wasn't going to be no questions asked in the House about some working-class kid getting hisself duffed up by the Bill if said Bill got his old man too chicken-shit to say a dicky-bird about it. 1986 Telegraph (Brisbane) 31 July 35/3 ‘The Bill’ takes place in the tough streets of Wapping, where..a policeman's day may begin catching a pickpocket and end up saving a life. |