Bow-street
(ˈbəʊstriːt)
A street in London near Covent-Garden, in which the principal metropolitan police-court is situated: hence Bow-street officer, -runner, etc., a police officer.
| 1812 Examiner 19 Oct. 663/1 Supported by a Bow-street Officer. 1838 Dickens O. Twist xxx, ‘It's the runners!’..‘The what!’..‘The Bow-street officers.’ |