phrase
General Slang
Cop A Plea
/kɑp ə pli/ · phrase · slang
To beg off, make excuses, or back down and apologize.
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Definitions
1
To back down or surrender in an argument.
“Don't cop a plea now, you started this.”
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2
To make excuses to get out of trouble or obligation.
“She copped a plea about being too tired to dance.”
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3
To plead, apologize, or beg for mercy when caught out.
“He copped a plea the moment she caught him fibbing.”
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Cop A Plea In A Sentence
When the rent came due, he just copped a plea.
No use copping a plea, gate, the truth is out.
He always cops a plea instead of facing the music.
Origin & Usage
1930s-40s Harlem jive slang, listed in Cab Calloway's 'Hepster's Dictionary' as meaning to plead or beg off. 'Cop' meant to take or get, so 'cop a plea' literally meant to take up a plea.
Variants
cop a plea, jim
People Also Ask
What does 'cop a plea' mean in jive?
It means to beg off, make excuses, or back down and apologize.
Where did 'cop a plea' come from?
From 1930s-40s Harlem jive, recorded in Cab Calloway's 'Hepster's Dictionary'; 'cop' meant to take or get.
Is this the same as a legal plea bargain?
It shares the 'cop' root, but the jive sense was broader, simply pleading or begging off in any situation.
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