1920s Slang For Police (Helpful Content!)

The most common slang term for police in the 1920s was “fuzz”. This was the most quintessentially 1920s term and was used broadly in the west, though mostly in the U.S. They might also be called a “bull” or a “scorcher” in some contexts. “Flattie” was also sometimes used in reference to police shoes.

The police, for as long as such a thing has existed, have had many different slang terms used for them.

In the 1920s, things were becoming more open and free in the west, and this also tended to manifest itself as disdain for the police, in the form of many different slang terms.

Let’s find out more.

What were police called in the 1920s?

The most common slang term for the police in the 1920s was “the fuzz”.

This one was primarily used in the States but you’d hear it throughout the west by the end of the decade.

It was a general, catch-all term for the police that was mostly used by young people but was certainly widely understood by most people at the time.

It didn’t necessarily, on the face of it, carry any negative connotations, and yet at the same time most of the people inclined to use this term probably did not have a particularly favorable view of the police.

“Look out, the fuzz are coming!” for example.

It was around this time that general social attitudes to the police, at least among the young, were starting to sour.

That is not to say that the police had always been viewed in a positive light before this time.

However, what was different now was a broad, social awareness of the way that the police at the very least were not interested in helping the less off and at worst were simply an arm of the oppressive state.

This general disdain for the police can be seen in a variety of other slang terms used for them at this time.

One of the other most common at the time was “bull”.

This could be used to refer to a single police officer, and sometimes the German “bullen” was used to refer to the police as a whole.

“There’s a bull coming round the corner,” for example.

“Scorcher” was another common slang term used for police in the 1920s, which could have a couple of meanings—it could mean to arrest someone, though it also often meant the person doing the arresting.

“Flattie”, finally, was another slang term used for police in the 1920s.

Why were police called “the fuzz” in the 1920s?

The term “fuzz” for police is first recorded in 1929, so plainly it was already in use by the 1920s.

It was originally, as mentioned, an American English term, and was simply a piece of underworld slang.

Beyond this, we don’t really know what exactly the term means or where it comes from.

Some believe it to be related to the word “fuss”, in the sense of “difficult to please”—that is, the police will never be happy no matter what you do.

Why this one caught on so much compared to others is hard to say, and it may be related to some lost signification of the term which we are no longer aware of.

Why were police called “bulls” in the 1920s?

This term is quite a lot older, and is first recorded in use in 1859.

Plainly, it was well in use by the beginning of the 20^th Century, then, and was already an established term—though it plainly took hold more widely in the 1920s.

It is thought to be similar to the later term “pig”.

It’s a disparaging term for the way police have no grace or subtlety, but simply “bull” their way into situations usually making things worse for everyone.

Again, it’s plain to see that most of these terms were meant to be extremely disparaging!

Why were police called “scorchers” in the 1920s?

As mentioned, the term “scorcher” was originally a slang verb that was used when someone was arrested.

Later on, though, the scorcher came to be the police officer doing the arresting.

Again, it’s really not known where this term comes from. It seems to have been more or less exclusive to the U.S. and never really caught on elsewhere.

Why were police called “flatties” in the 1920s?

Finally, “flatties” is the first in a long tradition of slang terms and youth lingo which described police on the basis of their shoes.

Police were called “flatties” often in contrast with “flappers”, who were known for wearing high heels at a time when this wasn’t as socially acceptable as it is now.

Again, this one is disparaging and was meant as a way of setting the police, uniformed, smart and rule-abiding as they were, apart from the younger, care-free flappers who wore whatever shoes they wanted.

Fashion slang was hugely important at this time, as the way people dressed was one of the main ways they reclaimed their identity and liberation.

Undoubtedly the single most common slang term for police in the 1920s, then, was “fuzz”.

This one was the most widely and commonly used and understood, and you’d hear this one not just across the U.S. but also in Britain.

For better or worse, social uprisings of freedom and liberation for the young have often been at odds with the police, so it’s not surprising that so many slang terms arose to describe them during the 1920s.

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