five-o
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From the police procedural television series Hawaii Five-O (first aired in 1968), so named because it is set in Hawaii, which is the 50th U.S. state.
Pronunciation
Audio (General Australian): (file)
Noun
- (US street slang) The police. [from 1980s]
- 1989, “Car Thief”, in Paul's Boutique, performed by Beastie Boys:
- Five-oh caught me, now I'm going to the mountains / Said good-bye to my girl, my lawyer and accountants
Further reading
- “five-oh n.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, 2016–present
- Eric Partridge (2005) “five-oh”, in Tom Dalzell and Terry Victor, editors, The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, volume 1 (A–I), London, New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, page 754.