General
esclop
What does esclop mean?
By extension, any figure of authority moving through the market — an inspector, a beadle, a weights-and-measures man — anyone whose arrival meant trouble for unlicensed trade.
"Keep an eye out, the esclop are checking scales down Petticoat Lane today."
Origin
Cockney costermonger back-slang, documented from the 1840s and recorded by Henry Mayhew in 'London Labour and the London Poor' (1851) and John Camden Hotten's 'Slang Dictionary' (1859), both of whom noted sellers reversing words to deceive police and customers alike.
Frequently asked questions
What does esclop mean?
It means the police. It's the word 'police' said roughly backwards in Cockney costermonger back-slang, used as a coded street warning.
Is 'slop' for police related to esclop?
Mayhew and Hotten record the back-slang form, and 'slop' (police) is widely treated as a shortening of it, though some lexicographers note the derivation is debated.
Why did costermongers need a code word for police?
Much street selling was unlicensed and barrows were routinely moved on, fined or confiscated, so a warning the constable couldn't understand was practical survival.
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