Nosmo King
I'm not a cat
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2021
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It the UK the usual application for someone not quite right in the head dept is 'a sandwich short of a picnic'Does anyone know the origin of the (I think) Cockney slang term "rozzer" for police officer? - or "rhino" for money? As in the immortal words of some unknown poet, "It's crackers to bend a rozzer with duff rhino."
Meaning "It's unwise to attempt to bribe a police officer with counterfeit money."
To bend, in this sense, means to bribe or to pay off; as in "a bent brief", meaning a career criminal's tame lawyer.
Then there's the other use of the word "bent", as in "bent out of shape", meaning annoyed or indignant, usually over some minor matter. For example, " 'E'd get bent out of shape if 'is shoelace wuz untied."
In Cheshire, and probably elsewhere, "keggled" means physically bent out of shape, as in "Keggled like a sheet o' corrugated iron that a lorry's driven ower." And then there's "gibbled", which I've only ever heard in use in Western Canada but is most likely more widespread, meaning fairly seriously damaged, or damaged beyond repair, or when applied to a person, "A few boards shy of a load."
Vernacular English is wonderful.
As to your question about 'rozzers' it comes from a colloquial name form Robert, as in Robert Peel.
You might be surprised to learn that this slang term for the police goes back to at least the late 19th Century. The most accepted explanation is that it’s a punny play on the name of Sir Robert Peel, founder of London’s Metropolitan Police.
https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2013/jan/16/straight-rozzers/