five-o
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English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
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[edit]
Audio (AU) (file)
Noun[edit]
five-o (uncountable)
- (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
Usage notes[edit]
- Typically shouted as a warning of approaching police by lookouts at a site of drug-dealing etc.
Further reading[edit]
- Jonathon Green (2024) “five-oh n.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang
- Eric Partridge (2005) “five-oh”, in Tom Dalzell and Terry Victor, editors, The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, volumes 1 (A–I), London, New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, page 754.