akdom  +  962611 Thu, 05 Nov 09 05:37 PM "As a former beat cop, Ron Huberman, the new chief of public schools in Chicago, learned long ago that violence among young urban people could not be solved simply by hauling ever larger numbers of children off to jail." what does beat mean in this context? a exhausted, puzzled cop?  how can the new chief be tired already?     (encarta.msn) adj 1. tired out: completely exhausted ( slang ) 2. puzzled: unable to understand or think how to proceed ( informal )    #It has me beat. 3. of Beat Generation: relating to or produced by members of the Beat Generation akdom Joined on Wed, Jun 4 2008 Full Member 147 Context, Writing, Numbers

	Clive  +  962619 Thu, 05 Nov 09 05:59 PM Hi, It's a special meaning of the word 'beat'.   Years ago, a uniformed police officer walked around the same streets every day. This was referred to as walking his beat. Hence, a beat cop refers to an ordinary cop.   Today, police officers usually ride around in cars where I live, so the term 'beat' is not often used in a police context.   Clive     Clive Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004 Canada Veteran Member 29,600 El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo Context

	MrPernickety  +  962660 Thu, 05 Nov 09 06:56 PM There's also a quite common expression: "on the beat" This is an example I found on COCA: I think it's time for us not to be the policemen on the beat in the city of Baghdad MrPernickety Joined on Sat, Oct 25 2008 Regular Member 731 Amendment XXX to the US Constitution: No man shall be held accountable for any promise he makes while drunk unless it was a bet. Expressions