Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

keystone cop

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.40 in modern English

Syllables: key-stone -cop
IPA

22

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

3

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A bungling, incompetent policeman.

Informal

Example Sentences

"Every blunder added weight to defense depictions of the CID as a bunch of Keystone Kops bunglers, a disgrace to serious criminal investigation."
"“I'm gone three days and look what happens? You two get sent out to do some spying and end up with front-row seats at a Keystone Kop shoot-out.”"

Etymology

From the Keystone Cops, a group of fictional, humorously incompetent policemen featured in silent slapstick comedies produced by the Keystone Film Company (itself named for the "Keystone State": Pennsylvania) between 1912 and 1917.

Usage

Informal

Inflected Forms

Keystone Cops (plural) Keystone Kop (alternative)

Questions

What does keystone cop mean?: A bungling, incompetent policeman.
Where does keystone cop come from?: From the Keystone Cops, a group of fictional, humorously incompetent policemen featured in silent slapstick comedies produced by the Keystone Film Company (itself named for the "Keystone State": Pennsylvania) between 1912 and 1917.

How to pronounce keystone cop

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “keystone cop”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “keystone cop”.
Repeat and practice — Say “keystone cop” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.