Meaning of good-cop, bad-cop | Babel Free

Definitions

Noun. [B2]

Examples

“He was acting mean⟳ and ugly, but I had seen enough movies to figure⟳ he was playing good-cop, bad-cop.”

“THE WHITE HOUSE PLAYS GOOD-COP, BAD-COP WITH GREENSPAN”

“The State Department appears to be playing “good-cop, bad-cop,” casting Helms as the heavy and limiting its own⟳ public criticism of Chamorro, while privately using the aid as a stick⟳ to beat⟳ concessions out of her.”

“I am not interested in being one side or other’s hero or villain. I am not playing ‘good-cop, bad-cop’.”

“In the “good-cop, bad-cop” scenario, the good cop puts himself on the side of the suspect⟳, supposedly working against his own⟳ bad-cop partner, and forges a bond that eventually works against the suspect’s interests.”

“Senior sources say⟳ this could be a play⟳ of some good old-fashioned good-cop, bad-cop routine between India and the US, particularly on Pakistan.”

“What Carole and her co-counsel James Howarth did was play⟳ good-cop, bad-cop to the jury – with me being the very bad cop.”

“The account executive and agency manager played good-cop, bad-cop with the client to give⟳ a sense⟳ of dynamic, just-in-time mediations to problems (pp. 172–5).”

“He's not a bad guy, even though he often plays good-cop, bad-cop with faculty against outspoken student ruffians like⟳ me.”

“We’ve all seen countless examples in the media of the “good-cop, bad-cop” game police play⟳ to extract confessions from criminal suspects. As the familiar routine goes, the “bad cop” confronts the suspect⟳ with overwhelming evidence of his guilt (it’s usually a “he”), points out discrepancies in his testimony, questions his alibi, and intimidates him with the prospect of a long jail term if he doesn’t confess. In contrast, the “good cop” offers sympathy and support⟳, suggests possible justifications for the crime, and emphasizes the benefits of snitching on fellow criminals.”

“McGhee and Nitze played good-cop, bad-cop, but in the absence of progress⟳ in Paris, all present⟳ agreed they could then accomplish nothing more.”

“He’d be great at playing good-cop, bad-cop, as long as he got to play⟳ the bad cop, she thought. Too bad she wasn’t about to let⟳ him go through with it.”

“Soto and Ford were about to play⟳ good-cop, bad-cop—an especially effective technique for breaking cocky teenagers.”

CEFR level