# Question for the UK contingent in the audience (British police slang) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 10, 2022, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-the-uk-contingent-in-the-audience-british-police-slang/967692 "2022-07-10T01:13:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-the-uk-contingent-in-the-audience-british-police-slang/967692/1 "2022-07-10T01:13:15Z")
I’m watching _ **Vera** _ with Brenda Blethyn at the moment. I have to ask: Do British policewomen really call witnesses and suspects “Luv” and “Pet” when they’re interviewing/interrogating them? It reminds me of Christie Love’s catchphrase “You’re under arrest, Sugar!” back in the '70s. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-the-uk-contingent-in-the-audience-british-police-slang/967692/2 "2022-07-10T04:52:18Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Do British policewomen really call witnesses and suspects “Luv” and “Pet” when they’re interviewing/interrogating them? “Pet” is specifically associated with the Geordie dialect (the Newcastle area in the NE, I think the series is set in that area). But with that caveat - yes, both “love” and “pet” are generic terms of endearment that someone trying to establish a “good cop” relationship with a suspect might use. Typically, a man would use them only toward a woman; a woman toward someone of either gender. I don’t think there’s any age restriction in usage. [Yakkin' Geordie is mint, pet | Media | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/aug/18/britishidentityandsociety.localgovernment) [Auf Wiedersehen, Pet - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auf_Wiedersehen,_Pet) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-the-uk-contingent-in-the-audience-british-police-slang/967692/3 "2022-07-10T06:00:31Z")
It sounds weird to me, but then, I can imagine an American cop using “honey”, which is basically the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-the-uk-contingent-in-the-audience-british-police-slang/967692/4 "2022-07-10T06:51:58Z")
In parts of the West Country, “my lover” isn’t uncommon, even (I once read somewhere) from a copper handing out a traffic fine to some equally burly trucker. But to me it seems a trifle overdone in Vera: as a means of trying to settle an anxious witness, or lull a suspect into revealing more than they intended to, or genuinely to sympathise with someone cornered into something disreputable, even criminal, OK - but when they’ve just about skewered the culprit for some ghastly cruelty? I hae ma doots. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-the-uk-contingent-in-the-audience-british-police-slang/967692/5 "2022-07-10T10:46:40Z")
I see. And would a female officer’s subordinates address her as “Mum”? Or is this just Geordie-speak for “Ma’am”? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-the-uk-contingent-in-the-audience-british-police-slang/967692/6 "2022-07-10T13:51:24Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > And would a female officer’s subordinates address her as “Mum”? Or is this just Geordie-speak for “Ma’am”? The latter. There may be a pronunciation difference, but senior police officers are addressed “Ma’am” in the U.K. If you want a further primer on Geordie, try the _Viz_ character _Sid The Sexist_. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-the-uk-contingent-in-the-audience-british-police-slang/967692/7 "2022-07-10T14:25:28Z")
When I lived in the UK (1976–77), I had a good friend from Newcastle who tried to teach me the dialect. I got as far as the lyrics to “Blaydon Races” before I had to go back to the US. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-the-uk-contingent-in-the-audience-british-police-slang/967692/8 "2022-07-10T14:33:19Z")
Even British people who are more familiar have trouble understanding full Geordie dialect. Anything you see on a TV show will probably be more just Geordie-accented with a few words like “pet” thrown in or it would require subtitles. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-the-uk-contingent-in-the-audience-british-police-slang/967692/9 "2022-07-10T15:01:16Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > The latter. There may be a pronunciation difference, but senior police officers are addressed “Ma’am” in the U.K And in the north east we pretty much always call our mothers “mam” which sounds exactly the same as “ma’am” in many cases. (which is sometimes pronounced “marm” but by no means always ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-the-uk-contingent-in-the-audience-british-police-slang/967692/10 "2022-07-10T18:13:49Z")
Don’t the Irish also say “mam” instead of “mum” or “mom?” I remember the Irish student in Harry Potter saying “mam.” ---
**Author:** ![its\_the\_daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bb73d2/32.png) [@its\_the\_daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/its_the_daddy)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-the-uk-contingent-in-the-audience-british-police-slang/967692/11 "2022-07-10T18:26:07Z")
And the usual form in addressing HM the Queen (after an initial “Your Majesty”) is “ma’am” which rhymes with “jam”. > **[How one should address the Queen - royal etiquette explained](https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1599055/how-to-address-queen-royal-etiquette-explained-evg)** > > THE QUEEN has garnered national respect throughout her incredible 70-year reign, and many of her subjects adhere to the rules of royal etiquette when meeting her. So how should one address the Queen? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-the-uk-contingent-in-the-audience-british-police-slang/967692/12 "2022-07-10T18:43:13Z")
I always assumed John Cleese was talking like a tough British cop in this scene: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Q1CGauwoKcw/hqdefault.jpg "Monty Python (Life of Brian)- You're nicked!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1CGauwoKcw) ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-the-uk-contingent-in-the-audience-british-police-slang/967692/13 "2022-07-10T18:44:29Z")
> [@its\_the\_daddy](#): > > And the usual form in addressing HM the Queen (after an initial “Your Majesty”) is “ma’am” which rhymes with “jam”. The pronunciation of “ma’am” is… complicated. And although I realize that Buckingham Palace have specified this pronunciation, I think it’s dubious for them to do so. Specifying how she should be addressed is one thing; specifying how words (other than proper names) should be pronounced is quite another. One assumes that they would not deem any of the the various vowel sounds associated with regional accents unacceptable in _other_ vocabulary when addressing the queen. > ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2022, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-the-uk-contingent-in-the-audience-british-police-slang/967692/14 "2022-07-10T18:46:43Z")
I remember Helena Bonham Carter, playing George VI’s wife in _The King’s Speech_, specifying that pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-the-uk-contingent-in-the-audience-british-police-slang/967692/15 "2022-07-11T14:01:51Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > Don’t the Irish also say “mam” instead of “mum” or “mom?” Sometimes “mammy” (years ago there was a TV sitcom called “The Mammy” about a fearsome matriarch - Siobhan McKenna - with a son - Milo O’Shea - who can’t cut the apron strings) but “ma” is not unknown (in “Derry Girls” there’s a scene where they’re trying to avoid the inevitable storm if their mas find out something, but have to reject the idea of going to their das because “Das are just ma-enablers!”) ---
**Author:** ![its\_the\_daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bb73d2/32.png) [@its\_the\_daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/its_the_daddy)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-the-uk-contingent-in-the-audience-british-police-slang/967692/16 "2022-07-11T14:46:27Z")
> **[Me Mammy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me_Mammy)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > Me Mammy is a British sitcom that aired on BBC1 from 1968 to 1971. Starring Milo O'Shea, it was written by Hugh Leonard. > Me Mammy first aired as pilot within the seventh series of the BBC's Comedy Playhouse. The pilot and first series were made in black-and-white. Despite playing his mother, Anna Manahan was only two years older than her on-screen son played by Milo O'Shea. Many of the episodes are missing and presumed wiped. Only the first epi... And Yootha Joyce! ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2022, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-the-uk-contingent-in-the-audience-british-police-slang/967692/17 "2022-07-11T18:07:35Z")
Ah my memory failed me. Anna Manahan, of course. She had a whale of a time as the termagant. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2022, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-the-uk-contingent-in-the-audience-british-police-slang/967692/18 "2022-07-14T15:46:26Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > The pronunciation of “ma’am” is… complicated. And although I realize that Buckingham Palace have specified this pronunciation, I think it’s dubious for them to do so. Specifying how she should be addressed is one thing; specifying how words (other than proper names) should be pronounced is quite another. I think it’s to stipulate that it’s not the drawn out MARM (which is what women Police officers are called), rather than over riding regional variations. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2022, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-the-uk-contingent-in-the-audience-british-police-slang/967692/19 "2022-07-14T16:08:10Z")
It’s dubious, not to say futile, for anyone to attempt to prescribe universally how a word should be pronounced in English ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2022, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-the-uk-contingent-in-the-audience-british-police-slang/967692/20 "2022-07-14T16:53:52Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > I think it’s to stipulate that it’s not the drawn out MARM (which is what women Police officers are called) But that is the same word. There is no separate word “marm” for senior police officers, that is a pronunciation of “ma’am”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-the-uk-contingent-in-the-audience-british-police-slang/967692.md?page=2)