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Keystone Kop

American  
[kop] / ˈkiˌstoʊn ˈkɒp /

noun

  1. Usually Keystone Kops. (in early silent movies) a team of comic policemen noted for their slapstick routines.

  2. Also Keystone Cop a person noted for bungling inefficiency.

    a backfield of Keystone Kops.


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Family friends urged Slim to get into movies “because he was such a character,” Clark said, “so in the early ’20s, he hitchhiked to Hollywood” and became a Keystone Kop and then a character actor.

From Los Angeles Times Feb. 8, 2023

This time, though, I loved the novel as a frenetic, over-the-top farce, packed with Keystone Kop action.

From Washington Post Apr. 13, 2022

I identified the Keystone Kop on Main Street, U.S.A., as an official undercover policeman.

From Los Angeles Times May 31, 2019

How Comedian Skelton cracks the conspiracy and the Goddess with one wild stroke of the old slapstick provides a real Keystone Kop finish.

From Time Magazine Archive

St. Cyr at the moment looked like a Keystone Kop after the chase sequence, and knew it.

From The Ego Machine by Kuttner, Henry

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