Where does expression "to police the yard" come from?

[Lenona]

The first time I heard it, even though it was a chore given to a 4-
year-old, I thought it meant "to keep other kids and animals off the
lawn."

I've gathered since then that it actually means to pick up toys,
trash, and pull weeds - maybe.

Where does it come from and why? It's not a self-explanatory
expression.

Here's the July 2000 column where I first heard it:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1347&dat=20000712&id=J9ASAAAAIBAJ&sjid=bv0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5948,446440

(For those who have never seen this feature before, move the mouse to
the tiny, floating blue rectangle in the upper right hand area, and as
you pull it downwards, you will be able to read the column on the left
side. The expression appears in the second half.)

BTW, this is a column that made Dr. Laura furious - presumbly because
1) she'd always assumed this doctor was one of her faithful minions 2)
it seems to violate her mantra "I am my kid's mom" and 3) I suspect
she doesn't approve of day care OR after school programs for kids
under 14 or so.

Lenona.

[Skitt]

Lenona wrote:

Policing with that sort of meaning has been around for 400 years, or so.

See http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/police
where it says:

Main Entry: 1po·lice
Pronunciation: \p?-'les\
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): po·liced; po·lic·ing
Etymology: in sense 1, from Middle French policier, from police conduct of
public affairs; in other senses, from 2police
Date: 1589

1 archaic : govern
2 : to control, regulate, or keep in order by use of police
3 : to make clean and put in order
4 a : to supervise the operation, execution, or administration of to prevent
or detect and prosecute violations of rules and regulations b : to exercise
such supervision over the policies and activities of
5 : to perform the functions of a police force in or over

See meaning 3, above.

--
Skitt (in SF Bay Area)
http://home.comcast.net/~skitt99/main.html

[tony cooper]

On Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:28:27 -0700 (PDT), Lenona <leno...@yahoo.com>
wrote:

>The first time I heard it, even though it was a chore given to a 4-
>year-old, I thought it meant "to keep other kids and animals off the
>lawn."
>
>I've gathered since then that it actually means to pick up toys,
>trash, and pull weeds - maybe.
>
>Where does it come from and why? It's not a self-explanatory
>expression.

I don't know where it came from, but "police the area" was a standard
instruction given in the US military in the 1960s, and probably still
is. I can't remember for sure, but it may have been a standard
expression used by camp counselors 20 years before that. I know we
were instructed to pick up any litter, and that's what "police the
area" means.

At the Flatrock YMCA summer camp (Indiana), we had to police the area
and find a certain number of pieces of trash before we were allowed to
have free time. We would save our candy bar wrappers and tear them
into several small pieces to meet the quota.

--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida

[Don Phillipson]

"Lenona" <leno...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:39052cda-ebc2-4dec...@t23g2000yqt.googlegroups.com...

> The first time I heard it, even though it was a chore given to a 4-
> year-old, I thought it meant "to keep other kids and animals off the
> lawn."
>
> I've gathered since then that it actually means to pick up toys,
> trash, and pull weeds - maybe.
>
> Where does it come from and why? It's not a self-explanatory
> expression.

This is US military slang, common in American English
since the Second World War (perhaps earlier.) Many
non-combat duties were called "policing." The principal
meaning was cleaning and tidying, hence orders to
"police the barracks" or "police the area," but men assigned
to wash pots or peel potatos might also be called "kitchen
police." (The British military had similar extra "fatigue"
duties but not the word police. Their rule was
1. If it is small enough, pick it up.
2. If it is too large to pick up, paint it.
3. If it moves, salute it.)

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

[R H Draney]

Don Phillipson filted:

Should be familiar to one and all in AUE because Tom Lehrer used it:

Now Al joined up to do his part defending you and me
He wants to fight and bleed and kill and die for liberty
With the hell of war he's come to grips
Policing up the filter tips
It makes a fella proud to be a soldier

....r

--
"Oy! A cat made of lead cannot fly."
- Mark Brader declaims a basic scientific principle

[Mark Brader]

"Skitt":

> Policing with that sort of meaning has been around for 400 years, or so.
>
> See http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/police
> where it says:
>
> Main Entry: 1po·lice
> Pronunciation: \p?-'les\
> Function: transitive verb
> Inflected Form(s): po·liced; po·lic·ing
> Etymology: in sense 1, from Middle French policier, from police conduct of
> public affairs; in other senses, from 2police
> Date: 1589

Um, you realize that that date refers to the *oldest* meaning?
In the OED1 and Supplement, the earliest cite for the meaning
in question is dated 1851.

I hadn't heard it either, by the way, except for one specific
expression that I've heard on one or more TV shows: a person who
fires a gun and then picks up the used cartridge ejected from it
is said to "police his brass". Or her brass, I suppose.
--
Mark Brader, Toronto "A cow-orker of mine used to ood dogs."
m...@vex.net -- Steve Hayes

My text in this article is in the public domain.

[Steve Hayes]

Ah, suddenly that makes sense.

I thought it meant he went snooping around the barracks trying to catch people
smoking where no smoking was allowed.

--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk

[Skitt]

Mark Brader wrote:
> "Skitt":

>> Policing with that sort of meaning has been around for 400 years, or
>> so.
>>
>> See http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/police
>> where it says:
>>
>> Main Entry: 1po·lice
>> Pronunciation: \p?-'les\
>> Function: transitive verb
>> Inflected Form(s): po·liced; po·lic·ing
>> Etymology: in sense 1, from Middle French policier, from police
>> conduct of public affairs; in other senses, from 2police
>> Date: 1589
>
> Um, you realize that that date refers to the *oldest* meaning?

Yes, I know that. I was taking a wild guess about the timing of the next
meaning.

> In the OED1 and Supplement, the earliest cite for the meaning
> in question is dated 1851.

Ah, well, alrighty then.

> I hadn't heard it either, by the way, except for one specific
> expression that I've heard on one or more TV shows: a person who
> fires a gun and then picks up the used cartridge ejected from it
> is said to "police his brass". Or her brass, I suppose.

I heard it in the army (1956-1959).
--
Skitt (AmE)

[wrenth...@gmail.com]

This Phrase was in common use in British Army C1970s and was used as an instruction to clear up any litter. Kind regards
Martin

[Peter Duncanson [BrE]]

That is the original meaning of the verb "police".

OED:

2. b. orig. and chiefly U.S. To make or keep clean or orderly; to
clean (a military camp, etc.). Freq. with up. Also fig. Cf. police
n. 3b.
1828 Rec. of Delinquencies 5 June in J. Davis Papers (1971) I. 98
Room not policed 24. June 1825.
1846 G. B. McClellan Mexican War Diary Nov. (1917) 8 See that
the part of the vessel destined to receive them is thoroughly
policed, washed and well scraped out.

3. trans.
a. To control, regulate, or keep in order by means of a police force
or similar body; to provide with a police force.
1834 Dublin Evening Post 14 Jan. 2/4 One of O'Connell's boasts
used to be, that he had policed the Sovereign People, so as to be
able, by their aid, to protect the public peace.
1891 Rev. of Reviews Mar. 214/2 The maintenance of the navy
which polices the seas.


--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)

[bel...@gmail.com]

(Came here looking for when the phrase originated) My dad used the phrase regularly, and he was army circa 1944.

[Peter Duncanson [BrE]]

On Wed, 14 Mar 2018 07:55:03 -0700 (PDT), bel...@gmail.com wrote:

>(Came here looking for when the phrase originated) My dad used the phrase regularly, and he was army circa 1944.

It comes from an older use of the verb "police".

From the OED:

police, v.

Etymology: Partly < Middle French, French policer to administer,
govern, control (1461 in Middle French; < police police n.), and
partly < police n. With senses 1 and 2a compare earlier policing n.
Compare policy v.2

†1. intr. Sc[otland]. To enclose and develop land, esp. by
cultivation; to make policies (policy n.1 6). Obs[olete].
a1600—a1600

2. trans.

†a. To maintain civil order in (a state or country); to organize or
regulate. Chiefly in pass. Obs[olete].
a1631—1793

b. orig. and chiefly U.S. To make or keep clean or orderly; to clean

(a military camp, etc.). Frequently with up. Also fig. Cf. police n.
3b.
1828—1993

3. trans.
a. To control, regulate, or keep in order by means of a police force
or similar body; to provide with a police force.

1834—2003

b. To guard or protect with or as with a police force.
1858—2002

c. fig. To keep in order, administer, regulate, or control.
1885—1996

4. trans. With complement: to bring into a specified state or
condition by policing.
1839—2000

(The date ranges such as 1839—2000 show the dates of the first and last
quotations showing examples of the use of the word.)

[chloerob...@gmail.com]

Thank you

[Horace LaBadie]

In article <dce65585-7d89-40fa...@googlegroups.com>,
chloerob...@gmail.com wrote:

> Thank you

Military for cleaning up the area, from maintaing order.