blue wall
1
9.0
- noun
- Jargon
:
código de silencio
- Many believe that the blue wall of silence is a barrier to justice for victims of police misconduct.
- blue wall of silence
Examples
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Many critics argue that the blue wall prevents accountability within police departments.
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After the scandal, the chief promised to break down the blue wall protecting corrupt officers.
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It took a whistleblower to penetrate the blue wall and expose the cover-up.
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The police department maintained a strict blue wall of silence.
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Many officers refused to break the blue wall despite the evidence.
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The investigation revealed the existence of a blue wall of silence protecting corrupt officers within the police department.
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During the trial, witnesses spoke about the challenges of breaking through the blue wall of silence among police officers.
Synonyms
3
8.1
An agreement to stay silent to hide something wrong
3
7.2
A group's choice to stay silent to protect members from blame
2
9.5
An unwritten rule among police officers not to report a colleague's illegal actions to protect them from punishment
1
9.9
A rule not to tell people outside about crimes in a gang
Surface Forms
Morphology
The political sense 'a bloc of voters reliably supporting the Democratic party' is not directly derivable from the literal meanings of 'blue' (a color) and 'wall' (a barrier or obstacle); a B1 learner would likely take it as a physical or general figurative phrase rather than an electoral stronghold. Understanding this MWE requires specific cultural/political knowledge (that 'blue' denotes a particular party and 'wall' is used metaphorically for a solid bloc), so the meaning is unpredictable from the constituents alone.
Etymology
Blue wall may come from police life: officers wear blue and a wall suggests people standing together to block or protect, so imagine colleagues forming a wall to hide a teammate's mistakes. That's why it means 'not to report or testify' and 'solidarity' within the force.