Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a servant who wore a blue coat; a servant’s coat.

1576		U. Fulwell Art of Flattery 8th dialogue 43: If neede require that you appeare / in presence of the king: / [...] you a traine must bring, / Your tenaunts are good handsome hines, / when badged blew coats on.
1592		H. Chettle Kind-Harts Dreame G2: This Shifter forsooth carried no lesse countenance than a Gentlemans abilitie, with his two men in bluecoates.
1599		H. Porter Two Angry Women of Abington C3: Wher’s your blew coat, your sword and buckler sir Get you such like habit for a seruing man, If you will waight upon the brat of Goursey.
1607		Middleton Trick to Catch the Old One II i: There’s more true honesty in such a country serving man, than in a hundred of our cloak companions. I may well call ’em companions, for since blue coats have been turned into cloaks one can scarce know the man from the master.
1611		J. Cook Greenes Tu Quoque Scene xiv: You thinke it does become you: fayth, it does not, A Blew Coat with a Badge, does better with you.
1632		D. Lupton London and the Countrey Carbonadoed 101: A French Cooke in the Kitching [...] and blew coates in the Hall.
c.1650		Le Strange Merry Passages and Jeasts No. 102 38: A Nobleman coming to Yarmouth [...] being attended with blew-coates.
1699		‘Old England turn’d New’ in Playford Pills to Purge Melancholy I 139: Where are your Old Courtiers that used to Ride, / With forty Blue-coats and Foot-men beside?
1787		Adventures of Jonathan Corncob 138: ‘One cursee hurricane to be sure,’ said she; ‘but good little macky blue-coat, never be afraid.’.
1822		(con. early 17C) W. Scott Fortunes of Nigel I 110: I hope to see him ride upon his moyle, with a foot-cloth, and have his two blue-coats after him.

2. in attrib. use of sense 1.

1678

J. Phillips Maronides V intro.: There is no man but puts Pen to Paper but has so much kindness for the offspring of his own fancy, as to think it may deserve some Charity, though it may be but a Blew-coat entertainment.

3. (also blew-coat, blue clothes) a member of the authorities who wears a blue coat, spec. a beadle in the 16C and later a policeman; thus bluecoat fraternity, blue-coated/-skinned adj.

1593		Donne Satires I line 21: Come a velvet justice with a long / Great train of blew-coats, twelve or fourteen long.
1608		Dekker Honest Whore Pt 2 (1630) V ii: I was neuer thus guarded with blue Coats, and Beadles, and Constables.
1610		Rowlands Martin Mark-all 19: Being so taken, haue beene carried to places of correction, there woefully tormented by Blew-coates.
1637		T. Nabbes Microcosmus Act V: Besides the whips of furies are not halfe so terrible as a blew coate.
1660		J. Tatham The Rump III i: I have heard some say, that Honour without Maintenance is like a blew Coat without a badge.
1690		D’Urfey Collin’s Walk canto 4 152: Blew Coat Bully that stood by, And heard his Chattering Lunacy [...] Gave him a thump that brought him down.
1698		Elegy on the Death of Trade in Harleian Misc. II (1809) 290: I’m afraid, Master Blue-coat, That you are no true coat.
1751		W. Kenrick Falstaff’s Wedding (1766) I iv: O, how soundly will the knave constable be swing’d for this! a jack-in-office rascal! we shall cure the blue-skin’d runion of his itch for whipping.
1821		J.F. Cooper ‘The Spy’ Novel Newspaper (1845) I 116/1: How’s this? a blue coat among those scarlet gentry.
1833		Poor Man’s Guardian 25 May 3/1: The blue-coated locusts [...] came down on them without ceremony.
1844		Leeds Times 22 June 6/2: My most trusty blue-coats [...] who see those drunkies home who roam at night in reeking stews and tap-rooms.
[1845		Disraeli Sybil Bk IV 176: A pretty go when a fellow in a blue coat fetches you the Devil’s own con on your head].
[1856		Lloyd’s Wkly News 16 Mar. 2/4: The tyrannous [sic] blue-coated new-comer, who had pushed Charlie from his box].
1861		(con. 1840s–50s) H. Mayhew London Labour and London Poor 369/1: I thinks them Chartists are a weak-minded set [...] a hundred o’ them would run away from one blue-coat.
1869		C.G. Leland ‘Breitmann in Politics’ Hans Breitmann About Town 41: So de Plue Goats dink it over / Und go quietly to vork.
1873		J. O’Connor Wanderings of a Vagabond 293: My room was filled with a swarm of blue coats, headed by a tall, powerful, red-haired and sandy whiskered fellow, who claimed to be their lieutenant.
1874		‘Old Calabar’ Won in a Canter I 219: ‘Here, take them away,’ he said, as two blue-coated gentlemen made their appearance from an inner room.
1879		Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 15 Nov. 14/4: My friend had seen the blue-coated gentlemen.
1881		Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 15 Jan. 3/4: In order to avoid any intervention from [...] the blue-coats [...] a steam-boat was chartered.
1890		Music Hall & Theatre Rev. 22 Mar. 6/2: Unfortunately, a peeler got scent of the affair, and [...] the blue coat fraternity stepped in to upset the proceedings.
1894		Wichita Dly Eagle (KS) 11 Aug. 6/6: They throw the bones for money [...] and the blue-coated gentlemen from Ireland who patrol the city are after them.
1896		N.Y. World 16 Oct. in Stallman (1966) 248: Six young women [...] sat [...] at police Headquarters and looked defiantly at the bluecoats gathered there.
1908		N.Y. Herald 25 Sept. in Fleming Unforgettable Season (1981) 252: About 100 bluecoats swung their sticks about the side lines.
1910		Sun. Times (Perth) 17 July 2nd sect. 15/3: One constable of the Port, who is known amongst his fellow bluecoats as ‘The Worm,’ [etc].
1917		‘A-No. 1’ From Coast to Coast with Jack London 90: Furthermore, on account of the rain, a swarm of bluecoats had scurried to the depot for shelter.
1926		Odum & Johnson Negro Workaday Songs 69: Went up to ’Lanta, / Who should I meet? / Forty-leben blue coats / Comin’ down de street.
1930		J. Lait Put on the Spot 2: The bluecoat yanked out a whistle and cut the Sabbath stillness.
1934		H. Roth Call It Sleep (1977) 13: His eyes followed with unswerving deliberation the blue-coats [i.e. customs officers] as they neared the boat.
1938		Afro-American (Baltimore, MD) 6 Aug. 18/1: I would like to see [...] Less ofay bluecoats on Tremont Street on Saturday nights.
1945		J. Fishman Bullets for Two 11: The policeman moved swiftly toward the car. [...] ‘What’s the trouble?’ the blue-coat demanded.
1952		Lait & Mortimer USA Confidential 39: Payoffs to bluecoats on the beat have become almost extinct.
1960		C. Cooper Jr Syndicate (1998) 52: Hendricks, along with four menacing blue coats [...] hovered over me hungrily.
1970		‘Red’ Rudensky Gonif 103: There were at least a dozen blue-coated bastards scattered all over the neighborhood.
1976		Sutton & Linn Where The Money Was (2004) 319: I was surrounded by a double rank of armed bluecoats.
1981		J. Wambaugh Glitter Dome (1982) 15: You don’t hear such politeness from those young bluecoats.
1985		T.R. Houser Central Sl. 11: blue clothes [...] ‘Dude used to be blue clothes. I heard he’s gone upstairs.’.
1985		R.G. Barrett You Wouldn’t Be Dead for Quids (1989) 14: A couple of bluecoats, the club’s bouncers come storm troopers [...] came charging in.
c.2003		D. Vrij ‘Tying Off’ on Inter-zone.org 🌐 The ensuing dance featuring cell phone calls to his insurance company and interactions with a couple of Bluecoats from the Kirkland Police Dept. was a bit sticky due to lack of paperwork, drivers licence, proof of insurance, registration all dust in the wind.

4. (US, Southern) a Northern, Unionist soldier; later any soldier.

1865		W. Hilleary diary 14 May A Webfoot Volunteer (1965) 65: Faithful little book thy pages have been filled by the scattering thoughts of a ‘blue coat’.
1879		A.W. Tourgée Fool’s Errand 122: But only wait until the States are restored and the ‘Blue Coats’ are out of the way, and we will show them their mistake .
1897		in B.L. Ridley Battles and Sketches of the Army of Tennessee (1906) 543: Come then, ‘Rebels,’ ‘Johnnies,’ ‘Gray-backs,’ ‘Yanks,’ and ‘Blue-coats,’ come along.
1968		(con. c.1900) J. Thompson King Blood (1989) 50: The bluecoats had Geronimo in a cage there in Fort Sill.

5. (S.Afr., also bluejacket) a habitual criminal serving an indeterminate sentence; an indeterminate sentence of 9–15 years.

1949		H.C. Bosman Cold Stone Jug (1981) II 3: Even the most hardened blue-coats (habitual criminals) broke down. [Ibid.] 50: I felt sorry for him because he was doing his second blue-coat.
1973		P. Driscoll Wilby Conspiracy (1991) 11: Jake [...] was doing the first year of a bluejacket for sticking some whore with a knife.