pound a beat

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pound a beat (third-person singular simple present pounds a beat, present participle pounding a beat, simple past and past participle pounded a beat)

1. (idiomatic, usually of a police officer) To walk a regular route.

   Assigned to the riverfront precinct for years, he pounded a beat of backstreets and dockyards.

   • 1948, Alfred Haines Cope, The administration of civil service in cities of the third class in Pennsylvania, page 65:

     Flat feet may be important to the patrolman who must pound a beat, but in cities with patrol cars, should mild cases of flat feet disqualify?

   • 1970, The Bench and Bar of Minnesota, volume 27, page 8:

     You can't ask a college graduate who is interested in law enforcement to pound a beat for four years before he becomes a sergeant.

   • 2012, Frank Kane, Grave Danger, section 14:

     I worked my way up from a flatfoot pounding a beat to where I am today. I like being a cop, I'm proud of being a cop.

2. (idiomatic, usually of a journalist) To cover a regular beat, reporting on an assigned category of news.

   Assigned to the city desk for years, she pounded a beat of city council and mayoral activity, police blotters, and the like.

• pound the pavement
• shoe-leather