# "One-time" as slang for police officers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 22, 2006, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-time-as-slang-for-police-officers/385264 "2006-12-22T20:04:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2006, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-time-as-slang-for-police-officers/385264/1 "2006-12-22T20:04:42Z")
I think this one is a little bit dated, as I’ve heard it in early-'90s rap songs and GTA:San Andreas, which is set in roughly the same time period, but I was wondering where it comes from, and how it came to mean what it does? It doesn’t seem to make any sense to my ears. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2006, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-time-as-slang-for-police-officers/385264/2 "2006-12-22T21:40:53Z")
[QUOTE=neutron star] I think this one is a little bit dated, as I’ve heard it in early-'90s rap songs and GTA:San Andreas, which is set in roughly the same time period, but I was wondering where it comes from, and how it came to mean what it does? It doesn’t seem to make any sense to my ears. [/QUOTE] It’s used in a lot of west coast rap songs, and I’ve seen several different explanations at the word’s origins. The one that makes the most sense to me is that it refers to a patrol car occupied by one officer. It’s actually police lingo… if the made a traffic stop of a lone drive, they’d report the vehicle was occupied one time. If their were two occupants they’d say it was occupied two times. Another explanation I’ve seen is that it refers to the fact that when the police approach you should only look at them one time. If you do a double take, or if every body in a group turns to look, it attracts too much attention. [UrbanDictionary.com](http://UrbanDictionary.com) might offer some other suggestions. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-time-as-slang-for-police-officers/385264/3 "2006-12-23T00:49:10Z")
Could you give an example sentence? ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-time-as-slang-for-police-officers/385264/4 "2006-12-23T01:37:27Z")
The term generally refers to those police officers who deliberately provoke “a likely suspect” into doing something illegal/questionable so that the cop will have an excuse to bust them, even if the “suspect” was doing nothing wrong to begin with. Usually a white cop and a young, black, male civilian. It typically involves racial profiling, i.e. stopping and questioning someone simply because they’re black. The cop will conduct the questioning in a manner that provokes the “suspect” into becoming uncooperative, giving the cop an excuse to arrest them for something like failing to provide identification when asked, and then perhaps roughing them up when they resist. I believe the term came out of the Los Angeles gang scene, where it was not at all uncommon for cops to stop and question anybody who looked like a possible gang member for simply walking down the street. “One-Time’s Got No Case” by Sir Mix-a-lot The police think I’m movin’ them keys They trip cause I clock much D They pull a gat an’ they yell out “Freeze!” I’m whippin’ out my I.D. My gat sits under my seat The cops throw me out in the street They found my gun like thieves Officer Friendly has got a new beef So I show him my gun permit I told him I roll legit Give me a test to see if I’m drinkin’ They claim my breath was stinkin’ They had me walk on the line I walked backwards stopped on a dime My female just reclines Cause she knows I know the time I’m hip to the cop procedure They get ya everytime they see ya They stop ya, they cuff ya They roll ya an’ they rough ya They ask what I do for a livin’ Should this information be givin’? This is what keeps me driven Some cops want a brother in prison So I got me a few attorneys Just in case a cop wanna burn me They protect me from the state Cause one-time’s got no case Full lyrics here. “One-Time” is basically the rap version of what we here would call a “troll”. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-time-as-slang-for-police-officers/385264/5 "2006-12-23T17:26:06Z")
[QUOTE=Bear\_Nenno] Could you give an example sentence? [/QUOTE] It seems to have been used as a substitute for the word “cop” in pretty much any situation from what I’ve heard. “We’ve got one-time on our asses.” “Keep an eye out for one-time.” ---
**Author:** ![happywaffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ee59a6/32.png) [@happywaffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/happywaffle)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-time-as-slang-for-police-officers/385264/6 "2006-12-23T20:31:18Z")
[QUOTE=anson2995] [UrbanDictionary.com](http://UrbanDictionary.com) might offer some other suggestions. [/QUOTE] > **[Urban Dictionary: one time](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=one+time)** > > one time: The police. So called because you look one time at them, as doing a double-take might attract attention. Sounds like “look one time” and “lone police officer/car” are the two leading theories. We’d need an authoritative origin to know any further. In Menace II Society, one of the characters sees a cop coming and yells out “Oh, shit, one time!” Then they all flee. I always wondered what he meant by that til now!