British TV Series Legalese - Fans of such British TV series as THE RUMPOLE OF THE BAILEY/THA/1977-92 encounter a number of phrases sprinkled throughout the scripts that may be common phrases to the Brits but a bit perplexing to us Yanks in America. The following is a selective list and description of some of the legal references bandied about in Britcoms and dramas:

• Bailiff: (In Great Britain, unlike America, a Bailiff seizes the property of someone whom the court has declared debtor);

• The Bar: (The Bar was a barrier or partitions that divided the students in the Inns of the Court (English Law Schools) from readers and senior professors. When a student was requested to participate in a special meeting, they were asked to approach the barrier (or bar) that divided the students from the meeting area. The barrier coined the terms "Barrister"; "to be admitted to a bar" as a barrister; and "to be "debarred" or rejected from a body of respected peers);

• Barrister: (a lawyer who handles cases involving major crimes, complicated divorces or major accidents. The position of a barristers had its origins in the church when the clergy stood as impartial and independent personalities who interceded for the common man in courts);

• The Bill or Old Bill: (Slang term for police constable or someone representing police authority. This term is used extensively on the soap opera EASTENDERS/BBC/1985+;

• Carey Street: (the former location of the bankruptcy court in London. This inspired the phrase "You'll find yourself on Carey Street";

• Chambers: (a private area where barristers share common quarters, rent, administrative services and a legal library. The area is supervised by the Head Clerk who runs the business end of the Chambers operations, i.e. billing, passing along briefs, etc.);

• Dining at One's Inn: (English custom that required an aspiring barrister to attend a number of dinners where students discussed points of law with their elders. If one did not make it a point to "dine" he was not called to the "Bar"); Inns of Court: (The four buildings in London (Gray's Inn, the Inner Temple, Lincoln's Inn, and the Middle Temple) belonging to the four legal societies who regulate the practice of law and the examinations leading to a position as a barrister or lawyer);

• The Old Bailey: (street in the western part of the City of London, where the Central Criminal Court is situated [London's principal criminal court]. Its Bailey Street location inspired its commonly used nickname. The building bears the inscription "Defend the Children of the Poor and Punish the Wrongdoer.";

• Queen's Counsel [QC]: (a barrister who has taken silk, i.e. been promoted from a junior barrister to QC);

• QC MP: (Queen's Counsel, Member of Parliament);

• Solicitor: (handles cases involving minor legal matters like drafting a will or a contract, divorce, property purchase, or minor shoplifting and traffic accidents. For more serious offenses a solicitor would direct his client to a barrister);

• Taking Silk: (the promotion of a barrister with 10 or more years of experience to the level of QC-Queen's Counsel (appointed by the Lord Chancellor) where they earn higher fees, and specialize in litigations. A QC wears a "silk" gown whereas an ordinary junior barrister wears a "cotton" gown);

• Oyez: (derived from the French verb "ouir," meaning "to listen." as in "to command silence" or to "listen up and pay attention". "Oyez" is usually said three times in court as the Usher tries to take control of the court);

• Usher: (the court employee in Britain who cries "all rise' when the judge enters the court and swears in the witnesses. In America this is done by a Bailiff).

Check out The Best of British (click on "Slang" on the left side of the screen).  See also - PROPS: "Rumpole's Red Bag" 

    By-gones - Term used by lawyer Richard Fish (Greg Germann) and colleagues at Cage/Fish & Associates on the legal dramedy ALLY MCBEAL/FOX/1997+  Roughly translated the word means "water under the bridge," as in "Killed her husband, slipped her mind-it happens! By-gones!" See also - WORDS OF WISDOM: "Fish-isms"

Cop Lingo - Police dramas like NYPD BLUE/ABC/1993-2005; HOMICIDE; LIFE ON THE STREET/NBC/1993+; and LAW & ORDER/NBC/1990+; sprinkle their scripts with special slang and terminology used by the cops on the beat. The following is a list of some of the words you might encounter while watching your favorite cop show:

• BCI: Bureau of Criminal Information; (fingerprint and criminal records section);

• CCRB: Civilian Complaint Review Board;

• CSI: Criminal Scene Investigation

• CSU: Crime Scene Unit;

• DOA: "dead on arrival";

• DWI: Driving While Intoxicated, (a.k.a. "Dee Wee");

• DT: Slang for Detective;.

• EDP: Emotionally Disturbed Person, (a.k.a. "nut job, psycho, mentally ill");

• EMS: Emergency Medical Services;

• ESU: Emergency Services Unit;

• FAT: Fugitive Apprehension Team;

• Five-O: Slang for police (derived from TV police drama HAWAII FIVE-O);

• Flying; as in "fly the coup" to another work assignment at another precinct;

• Go down: as in "You're going down (being arrested for a crime);

• Gun run: Going in search of a gun used in crime;

• Hit: To assault a known criminal location;

• IAB: Internal Affairs Bureau, "cops who investigate cops";

• Lawyering Up: A suspect shuts up and requests a lawyer;

• Lou or Loo: Slang for Lieutenant;

• MOS: Member of the Service, a radio code word identifying a police officer;

• OC: Organized Crime;

• Package or VIP: Escorted prisoner as in "delivering a package" to a destination;

• Paying the rent: Doing grunt work like issuing a traffic summons and speeding ticket;

• Perp: Short for Perpetrator of a crime, (a.k.a. Mope or a Mutt);

• Puzzle Palace: Slang for main police headquarters;

• Rabbi: A reliable, trustworthy person in the work environment;.

• Rat Squad: Slang for officers and detectives working for Internal Affairs Bureau (IAB).

• Red Menace: Slang for members of the New York City Fire Department, (a.k.a. Rubbermen);

• Rip: Pay reduction resulting from a disciplinary action;

• RMP: Radio Mobile Patrol;

• Skel: short for "skeleton" refers to drug-users, junkies or homeless vagrants (possibly derived from word "skellum" meaning thief or street beggar;

• SNAG: Special Narcotics and Guns Unit;

• SNEU: Special Narcotics Enforcement Unit;

• SOD: Special Operations Division;.

• TARU: Technical and Research Unit;

• Tunnel Rats: NYPD Transit Bureau (subway cops);

• White Shirts: Supervisors (lieutenants, captains, etc) who wear white police uniform shirts.

See also - ACRONYMS and BOOKS: "Dragnet-to-English Dictionary"

PINS - Acronym for "Persons in need of supervision" and term used by social workers on the sitcom FISH/ABC/1977-78 to define the delinquent children who were under the custody of the city of New York. Abe Vigoda starred as Detective Phil Fish who agreed to become a Foster Parent for five of these unwanted street children, assisted by his loving and much more tolerant wife, Bernice (Florence Stanley).  

Poughkeepsie - Term used by eccentric senior partner, John Cage (Peter MacNicol), on the legal dramedy ALLY MCBEAL/FOX/1997-2002. Whenever John got nervous he used the word "Poughkeepsie" as his personal mantra, muttering it calmly as he wandered the law firm of Cage/Fish & Associates. See also - "By-gones"  

QED -  Latin word for the phrase "quod erat demonstrandum" which in English translates to "which was to be proved." The acronym was also the initials of Quentin E. Deverill (Sam Waterston), a turn of the century English scientist and amateur sleuth working out of London on the adventure Q.E.D./CBS/1982. He often battled the evil Dr. Stefan Kilkiss (Julian Glover), a rather nasty fellow whose plans included world domination. Q.E.D. was also the title of Q.E.D./ABC/1951, a quiz/panel show moderated by Doug Browning. The program featured a celebrity panel who tried to solve mystery stories submitted by the home viewers. The stories were partially read on the air and the panelist had to guess the ending based on the clues given.