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Having tackled the origin of "cops" previously, we felt well qualified to take on "the fuzz." Rather than try a fruitless search, we hightailed it straight to two of our favorite resources for this particular subject and consulted the Word Detective and World Wide Words. Here's what we learned... Although "the fuzz" is not a phrase encountered in common parlance, it appears to have originated in the U.S. in the 1920s. It was a pretty popular slang term among "underground types" in the '30s. As is the case with many word origin issues, there are
several theories but no definitive answer for your question. Here are some of the more widespread theories on the origins of "the fuzz": - "Fuzz" is derived from "fuss" because police officers are fussy or hard to please.
- It's a reference to the beards that police officers sported at the time.
- It's a slurred pronunciation of the exclamation "Feds."
- It's based on the criminal slang term "fuzzy," which meant "unmanly, incompetent and soft."
- It's from the Wolof word "fas" for a horse, which was applied to mounted police officers and then ultimately to all officers.
So there you have it -- the fuzzy origins of "the fuzz."
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