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Was listening to Bill Clinton speak at the DNC last night, and heard him use the phrase "men in blue." Of course, I immediately knew he was talking about the police, but then it occurred to me that the uniforms are many other colors besides blue. Here in Arizona, for example, police that are on bicycle patrol in downtown Phoenix wear white (not surprisingly). Ironically, "men in white" has a very different meaning.
So the phrase "men in blue" isn't really becoming archaic, as are "roll down your window" or "like a broken record," but it made me curious about the etymology.
Alas, my usual online sources for etymology were of no help. I can only guess that in earlier times all police wore blue uniforms. That's just a guess, and it makes for some pretty unexciting etymology. If anyone knows more about the origins of this phrase, please enlighten.
The earliest occurrence in a book that I can find is 1872: a book of compiled magazines called, "The Dark Blue" (the 1862 date that Google Books has seems to be from the printer's Roman numeral printing that is missing an 'X'). The essay containing the phrase seems to be about the London, England police. If their uniforms never deviated from being blue, you may have the origin of the phrase. It appears from the preface that the magazine's title has nothing to do with the phrase.
You probably can work in anything at a whim as long as it's evoking. There is a recent movie called Men in Black about a couple guys possessing super powers. Mel Brooks is right on target with Men in Tights for his Robin Hood gang.
I have severe pet peeve with men in scrubs visiting restaurants for lunches. Please, doctor, we appreciate your services to society, but in hospital please, where the germs properly belong.
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
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