# Origin/history of the phrase "lawyer up"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 24, 2006, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-history-of-the-phrase-lawyer-up/369976 "2006-08-24T01:14:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-history-of-the-phrase-lawyer-up/369976/1 "2006-08-24T01:14:18Z")
This phrase has been popping up a lot lately. How long has it been in use, and where did it first appear? Google was not my friend. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-history-of-the-phrase-lawyer-up/369976/2 "2006-08-24T01:29:14Z")
Some context might help. How’s it used? ---
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-history-of-the-phrase-lawyer-up/369976/3 "2006-08-24T01:33:13Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] Some context might help. How’s it used? [/QUOTE] Oh, sorry. It means the person doing the lawyering up has hired lawyers, and is usually invoked when this action has caused them to change their behavior. “He’s not talking since he lawyered up” is an example. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-history-of-the-phrase-lawyer-up/369976/4 "2006-08-24T01:53:25Z")
Thanx. Still no clue on origins. Seems like it’d be a very commonsense usage, seeing as we have “fuel up” for get gas or “suit up” for get into uniform, and thus hard to trace precisely. Have you tried Google Groups? If a phrase is common enough to make it onto Usenet, sometimes that’s a good way to date it, if not track it. ---
**Author:** ![Thalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f475e1/32.png) [@Thalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thalion)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-history-of-the-phrase-lawyer-up/369976/5 "2006-08-24T01:58:32Z")
I’ve been a cop for nearly 20 years, and I’ve used it that entire time. It usually refers to a person invoking their right to speak to an attorney after being advised of the _Miranda_ rights. ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-history-of-the-phrase-lawyer-up/369976/6 "2006-08-24T02:06:00Z")
I’m sure it was popularized by _NYPD Blue_ where it was used constantly during the first few seasons. David Milch, the co-creator, got a lot of his terminology from Bill Clark, an NYPD detective. ---
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-history-of-the-phrase-lawyer-up/369976/7 "2006-08-24T02:17:46Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] Thanx. Still no clue on origins. Seems like it’d be a very commonsense usage, seeing as we have “fuel up” for get gas or “suit up” for get into uniform, and thus hard to trace precisely. [/QUOTE] I expect that, yeah. Though really, we don’t have any other phrase I can think of in this particular structure as regards to professionals. People don’t doctor up or even bodyguard up. I never saw so much as a minute of an episode of NYPD Blue, if you can believe it, but I bet that’s what spread it around, all right. Thalion, did older cops use it too when you first joined the force? ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-history-of-the-phrase-lawyer-up/369976/8 "2006-08-24T04:51:01Z")
Well, this is a total WAG, but I always thought it was like the term “saddle up.” Like for horse riding? Sort of a “here we go” kind of thing. But, I pretty much just pulled that out of my ass. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-history-of-the-phrase-lawyer-up/369976/9 "2006-08-24T16:10:12Z")
Well my WAG is that before Miranda a suspect would shut up, or clam up, meaning no longer talking. Now after Miranda the suspect lawyer ups. Same result, the suspect is no longer talking. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-history-of-the-phrase-lawyer-up/369976/10 "2006-08-24T16:29:40Z")
So it’s not the act of getting a lawyer, but the act of _refusing to speak_ until you have one. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-history-of-the-phrase-lawyer-up/369976/11 "2006-08-24T16:34:03Z")
Probably not related to “cowboy up,” which seems to mean either “start drinking” or “stock up on booze.” ---
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-history-of-the-phrase-lawyer-up/369976/12 "2006-08-24T16:37:27Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] So it’s not the act of getting a lawyer, but the act of _refusing to speak_ until you have one. [/QUOTE] No, more the act of refusing to speak _after_ you’ve got one. Clammed up seems a likely connection, but “saddle up” feels more appropriate, because the sense is that this person has gathered their posse around them and is now harder to get at. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-history-of-the-phrase-lawyer-up/369976/13 "2006-08-24T17:37:30Z")
[QUOTE=Ensign Edison] No, more the act of refusing to speak _after_ you’ve got one. Clammed up seems a likely connection, but “saddle up” feels more appropriate, because the sense is that this person has gathered their posse around them and is now harder to get at. [/QUOTE] I don’t think so. Before Miranda “He clammed up” = not talking After Miranda “He clammed up” = not talking, but has not asked for a lawyer OR “He lawyered up” = not talking until his lawyer gets here, and probably not then. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-history-of-the-phrase-lawyer-up/369976/14 "2006-08-24T18:02:08Z")
I’ve always understood “lawyered up” to refer specifically to the aspect of _Miranda_ that says: > [@](#): > > If the individual indicates in any manner, at any time prior to or during questioning, that he wishes to remain silent, the interrogation must cease … If the individual states that he wants an attorney, the interrogation must cease until an attorney is present. At that time, the individual must have an opportunity to confer with the attorney and to have him present during any subsequent questioning. > **[Miranda v. Arizona](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miranda_v._Arizona#The_Supreme_Court.27s_decision)** > > Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966), is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that law enforcement must warn a person of their constitutional rights before interrogating them when they are in custody, or else the person's statements cannot be used as evidence against them at their trial. Specifically, the Court held that under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the government cannot use a person's statements made in response to an interrogation wh... The so-called second-tier Miranda rights. At the first tier, you’ve got the right to refuse to answer questions and the right to request a lawyer. If you request a lawyer, it activates a second-tier of rights: Questioning must cease and not resume until a lawyer is present. This is pretty close to what some others have said. But the key is that you don’t have to refuse to answer questions after you ask for a lawyer: The questions can’t be asked. Again, there are two options: a. Refuse to answer questions b. Ask for a lawyer (which prevents them from continuing to ask questions) The first time I heard the term was on _NYPD Blue_, but it pretty clearly predates the show. On the show, the context was usually: Q: What did the suspect say (when interrogated)? A: He lawyered up (He asked for a lawyer, so we had to stop questioning him, and we probably won’t be able to get any more information from him because his lawyer will tell him not to say anything). ---
**Author:** ![BJMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@BJMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BJMoose)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2006, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-history-of-the-phrase-lawyer-up/369976/15 "2006-08-25T16:07:30Z")
Just a guess: “lawyering up” may have originated as the alternative to “fessing up” (clamming up works, too).