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five-o. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
five-o, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
five-o in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Etymology
From the police procedural television series Hawaii Five-O (first aired in 1968), so named because it is set in Hawaii, which is the 50th U.S. state.
Pronunciation
Noun
five-o (uncountable)
- (US street slang) The police.
1989, “Car Thief”, in Paul's Boutique, performed by Beastie Boys:Five-oh caught me, now I'm going to the mountains / Said good-bye to my girl, my lawyer and accountants
Usage notes
- Typically shouted as a warning of approaching police by lookouts at a site of drug-dealing etc.
Further reading
- “five-oh n.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, 2016–present
- Eric Partridge (2005) “five-oh”, in Tom Dalzell and Terry Victor, editors, The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, volume 1 (A–I), London, New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, page 754.