harman-beck
English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Noun
[edit]harman-beck (plural harman-becks)
- (obsolete, thieves' cant) A policeman.
- 1609, Thomas Dekker, “Lanthorne and Candle-light. Or, The Bell-man’s Second Nights-walke. […] The Second Edition, […]: Of Canting, How Long It hath beene a Language: How It Comes to bee a Language: How It is Deriued, & by whom It is Spoken. [A Canting Song.]”, in Alexander B[alloch] Grosart, editor, The Non-dramatic Works of Thomas Dekker. […] (The Huth Library), volume III, London, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire: […] [Hazell, Watson, & Viney] for private circulation only, published 1885, →OCLC, page 203:
- The Ruffin cly the nab of the Harmanbeck,
If we mawnd Pannam, lap, or Ruff-peck,
Or poplars of yarum: he cuts, bing to the Ruffmans,
Or els he ſweares by the light-mans,
To put our ſtamps in the Harmans.
- 1610, “The Maunderer's Wooing”, in Farmer, John Stephen, editor, Musa Pedestris, published 1896, page 8:
- But O ben Coue what if we be clyd,
Long we cannot foist & nip at last we shall be spyed,
If that we be spied, O then begins our woe,
With the Harman beake out and alas,
To Wittington we goe.
- 1652, Richard Brome, A Jovial Crew[1], act 2:
- Here, safe in our Skipper, let's cly off our Peck,
And bowse in defiance o' th' Harman-beck.
Synonyms
[edit]- harman, nuthook, PC Plod; see also Thesaurus:police officer