Old Bill

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Old Bill

Where it comes from

Unknown. Suggested sources for the police officer and police force terms include:

#Old Bill, comic character created by Bruce Bairnsfather.

#Music hall song "Won't you come home, Bill Bailey", which references the Old Bailey criminal court.

#William IV (reigned 1830-37), who became king the year after the Metropolitan Police were founded (1829).

#Wilhelm I, Prussian Kaiser who visited the UK around the same time the custodian helmet was adopted (1863).

#bill (“cutting instrument”) or billhook, weapons carried by constables of the watch.

#bill (“written note of services rendered”), allegedly presented by a police officer to solicit a bribe.

#bill (“draft of a law”), laid in Parliament.

#Number plates for all public services, including police, registered by London County Council with the letter "BYL".

##Specifically, the cars of the Flying Squad.

#Bill Smith, a popular police sergeant in Limehouse circa 1860s.

noun the Old Bill

UK, slang A police officer.
Similar: bobby, PC Plod, rozzer, 5-O, alphabet, barney, beatsman, bizzie, bluebottle, bluecoat, blue heeler, blue meanie
British, slang The police force.
Similar: Bill, esclop, plod, 5-O, Babylon, bacon, Big Blue Machine, boydem, constabulary, dibble, donut patrol, ducks and geese
British, dated, slang A soldier, especially one who resembles the cartoon character of the same name created by Bruce Bairnsfather in 1914.
Similar: squaddie, sweat, Tommy, digger, dogface, doughboy, GI, ground pounder, grunt, jarhead, jawan, lobster

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MLA

"Old Bill." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/old%20bill. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

Old Bill. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/old%20bill

Chicago

"Old Bill." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/old%20bill.

BibTeX

@misc{old_bill_2026,
  title = {Old Bill},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/old%20bill},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}