Boydem

Boydem (noun / UK slang)

Definition: The police. Street term used mainly across London and big UK cities for coppers, patrol cars, or undercover officers on the beat.

Pronunciation: /ˈbɔɪ.dɛm/ (boy-dem)

Where It Comes From: Straight out of Jamaican Patois (dem meaning “them”, so literally “them boys”). London’s Caribbean diaspora brought it into British inner-city slang throughout the late 80s and 90s. UK drill, grime, and road rap blasted it onto mainstream airwaves and social media, cementing it as everyday estate talk nationwide.

How People Actually Use It: It’s a heads-up word on the street.

Someone spots an unmarked Astra or a marked riot van turning the corner and hisses “boydem.” Used when people are watching out for stop-and-search, ditching something dodgy, or complaining about cops hovering around high streets and estate car parks on a Friday night.

Examples in the Wild:

• “Watch out round the back of the station, boydem are pulling over everyone in trackies.”

  Translation: “Be careful near the station, police are stopping people for searches.”

• “He spotted boydem turning into the car park and shoved his stuff right into his socks.”

  Translation: “He saw the police arriving and hid his belongings.”

• “Why are boydem always parked outside the offy at this time of night?”

  Translation: “Why is there always a police car sitting outside the corner shop?”

Similar Slang: Feds, Old Bill, The Met, Coppers, Five-O, The Law, Plod