ENGLISH
REFERENCE

clancy

n. countable
C2 Proficiency US //ˈkɫænsi// clan·cy

n. a person who is a member of the police. This is an old-fashioned word used mostly in the UK and Ireland.

n. a slang or informal term for a police officer. Primarily British and Irish in usage; now largely considered dated or archaic.


SIMPLE

The local clancy walked his beat every morning.

CONTEXTUAL

In the old detective novel, the protagonist had to dodge a clancy on every street corner.

COMPLEX

The scriptwriter used the term clancy to evoke the specific atmosphere of 1950s London, though modern audiences might find the slang unfamiliar.

Usage

Informal and dated; typically used in a British or Irish cultural context.

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