[Ads-l] "You can beat the rap, but you can't beat the ride."

[Jonathan Lighter]

Nice work, Garson.

Looks like the Houston PD was the place of origin.

JL

On Sat, Aug 1, 2026 at 12:59 PM ADSGarson O'Toole
<00001aa1be50b751-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
>
> Interesting saying, JL. Here are two earlier citations from Houston, Texas.
>
> Date: February 17, 1950
> Newspaper: The Houston Post
> Newspaper Location: Houston, Texas
> Article: Meet Thugs, Police Told
> Quote Page 17, Column 3
> Database: Newspapers.com
> https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-houston-post-ride/202883261/
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> "Make contacts wherever undesirables hang out." he said. "Stop
> suspicious men and talk to them. Watch out for people driving
> aimlessly around during late hours. You've got your police instinct to
> tell you when to act.
>
> "When you think you have something on a suspect, put him in jail. He
> may beat the rap, but he can't beat the ride."
> [End excerpt]
>
> Date: February 26, 1951
> Newspaper: The Houston Post
> Newspaper Location: Houston, Texas
> Article: Get Legitimate Job or Get Out, Capt Seber Tells Racketeers
> Author: Tom Omstead
> Start Page 1, Quote Page 8, Column 5
> Database: Newspapers.com
> https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-houston-post-ride/202882211/
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> Capt Seber said his order for the arrest of the pair was only a
> starter, that he plans to talk to all undesirables who drift into
> Houston.
>
> Even if he cannot charge them with gaming, Capt Seber pointed out that
> "None of them are immune from arrest." This is by way of saying they
> may beat the rap but they can't beat the ride.
> [End excerpt]
>
> Garson
>
> On Sat, Aug 1, 2026 at 8:44 AM Jonathan Lighter
> <00001aad181a2549-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
> >
> > I heard this a day or two ago on Deadline White House. The speaker, I
> > think, was Norm Eisen.  Anyway:
> >
> > 1968 Dick Edwards in _N.Y. Amsterdam News_ (July 27) 12
> > [Newspapers.com]: The arresting officer [in Houston years earlier]
> > laughed at me and said: "Boy, you may beat the rap - but you can't
> > beat the ride."
> >
> > 1972 _L.A. Times_ (Jan. 22) 1:  HOUSTON...His motto is, "You may beat
> > the rap, but you can't beat the ride." This refers to...time-consuming
> > and costly litigation.
> >
> > 1973 [U.S. Congress, House Select Committee on Crime] _Street Crime in
> > America (Prosecution and Court Innovations)_ (Washington, D.C.:
> > U.S.G.P.O] 1084: There used to be a saying, "you can beat the rap but
> > not the ride." I don't really subscribe to that theory myself. It is
> > perfectly acceptable for a police officer to go out and bring someone
> > in for questioning without having a completed case. That is one thing.
> > That is proper. But I don't think you ought to file an actual
> > charge...unless you have sufficient evidence to warrant prosecution of
> > that case.
> >
> > 2005   https://www.emerald.com/books/edited-volume/12714/Research-in-Social-Movements-Conflicts-and-Change
> >  :   “You Can Beat the Rap, But You Can’t Beat the Ride:” Bringing
> > Arrests Back into Research on Repression
> >
> > 2010    https://sumptergonzalez.com/2010/08/20/you-can-beat-the-rap-but-you-cant-beat-the-rape/
> >  :  Down here in Texas, the police have an old saying — “You can beat
> > the rap, but you can’t beat the ride.” Means that, guilty or innocent,
> > those hours you spend in jail are going to suck, and it’s at the cop’s
> > discretion whether or not you’re going to endure them. The “ride” in
> > question is the ride in the police car.
> >
> > 2026   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/you_can_beat_the_rap,_but_you_can%27t_beat_the_ride#English
> >  :
> > "You can beat the rap, but you can't beat the ride." ... You can't
> > escape the inconvenience and/or cost of the legal process even if you
> > are innocent and the charges are ultimately dropped or you get
> > acquitted.
> >
> > Wiktionary defines it pretty much like  the L.A. Times but in the
> > context of malicious prosecution.
> >
> > JL
> >
> > --
> > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



-- 
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org