Keystone Cop

English

Etymology

From the Keystone Cops, a group of fictional, humorously incompetent policemen featured in silent slapstick comedies produced by the Keystone Film Company (itself named for the "Keystone State": Pennsylvania) between 1912 and 1917.

Noun

Keystone Cop (plural Keystone Cops)

1. (informal) A bungling, incompetent policeman.
   • 2003, Colin Evans, A Question of Evidence, page 162:

     Every blunder added weight to defense depictions of the CID as a bunch of Keystone Kops bunglers, a disgrace to serious criminal investigation.

   • 2011, T. L. Carpenter, The Amerikan Dream, page 174:

     “I'm gone three days and look what happens? You two get sent out to do some spying and end up with front-row seats at a Keystone Kop shoot-out.”

Alternative forms

• Keystone Kop