Shelley Martens, age 11, of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, for her question:

Why are policemen called cops?

This most likely happened in London. Without a doubt those who started it liked slangy expressions because plain talk might reveal their secrets. The word cop happens to date way, way back in the English language. Such simple little words tend to change their meanings and add new ones. Through the years, the word "cop" meant the top of a mountain, a coil of thread, a spider and several other unrelated items. It also meant to catch or capture. Shady characters tend to waste many golden hours trying to avoid getting captured or copped.

Naturally, the policeman's job was to do the capturing. When shady characters got copped, he did the copping    so it seemed logical to call him a cop. But this term rightfully belongs to these shady characters who invented it. After all, they are the ones who have to worry day and night about being captured. They need a shady slang word for policeman. So it seems hardly fair when ordinary folk use their secret password. Besides, it's rather impolite when all types of citizens refer to policemen as cops.