Bow Street runner

(bəʊ)

(Historical Terms) (in Britain from 1749 to 1829) an officer at Bow Street magistrates' court, London, whose duty was to pursue and arrest criminals

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

Translations

Bow Street runner

n (Brit, Hist) → Büttel m (der offiziellen Detektei in der Londoner Bow Street)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

All the time he was jerking out these phrases he was stumping up and down the tavern on his crutch, slapping tables with his hand, and giving such a show of excitement as would have convinced an Old Bailey judge or a Bow Street runner. My suspicions had been thoroughly reawakened on finding Black Dog at the Spy- glass, and I watched the cook narrowly.

View in context

We are Bow Street runners, and we've got you for coining."

The minutes were getting on, and I had not heard a word yet, through the peephole, on the subject of the reserve of Bow Street runners outside.

* The "Bow Street runners" of those days were the predecessors of the detective police of the present time.

View in context

Bow Street Runner Sam Kelly is called to investigate the grisly murder of Sir Giles Holbrooke, who was left naked and garroted, with his tongue cut out.

Betrayal in Time

Joined by lover Alec and Bow Street Runner Sam Kelly, Kendra must sort through the puzzle of Stone's rather unsavory life, picking apart alibies and dissecting carefully created deceptions from a growing list of suspects.

Caught in Time

The first time a bullet was forensically traced back to a particular gun was in 1835 when Bow Street Runner Henry Goddard Bow Street Runner Henry Goddard was called to the house of a Mrs was called to the house of a Mrs Maxwell in Southampton.

CSI KIRKCALDY; AUTHOR REVEALS HOW THE DEAD CAN TALK; Crimewriter Val sheds light on world of forensic science

IN the seedy and dangerous London of 1829, Pyke, a Bow Street Runner, is investigating a series of brutal murders.

Books

The sign has gone up at the entrance to a Russian vodka bar called the Bow Street Runner.

It's just a sign of the times; PLANNING: Council threat to prosecute over No Smoking sign at hotel

My new drinking buddies, Billy The Blade and Little Frankie (also known as the Bow Street Runner after skipping bail in London) joined me in a Torremolinos toast.

HORSERACING: JOE PUNTER; Heat of the night slows my action

As well as harsh punishments, different types of 'crime management' were employed, from the 'Watchmen' to the 'Bow Street Runners.'.

How scourge of knife crime has taken hold of our cities

A particular man: the dashing and roguish Daffin Oakleaf, a member of the Bow Street Runners, London's first police force.

Romances to melt even a Scrooge's heart