meaning of "prowlers"

In "Fargo", season 02, several state troopers are setting up an ambush at a motel in an attempt to arrest a ruthless mob boss. Before reaching the motel, they decide to "ditch the prowlers" and continue on foot.

Is "prowlers" AmE slang for police cars? I checked the meaning of "prowler" in all dictionaries on onelook.com but couldn't find anything similar. Mind you, I'm not sure about the spelling.

The film is set in the American Midwest in 1979.

THIS Wikipedia article says "prowl car" is another term for an American police car. It makes sense that those in the job might well shorten this to "prowler". However, I suggest you wait for an AmE speaker to confirm this.

The "continue on foot" part should have been a strong clue.

While I am not familiar with "prowlers", it fits it in with the "family" of names for those vehicles, namely"squad cars" and "cruisers".

While I'm familiar with 'prowlers', that meaning of it is new to me. I was only aware of a prowler as someone who's sneaking around with criminal intent, such as a burglar or thief.

I'm wondering whether prowler in this context is a regionalism. In Canada we call them police cars, patrol cars or squad cars, and sometimes black and whites in slang.

Well, it is Wikipedia, so it could just be one random person's meaning that nobody bothered to correct.

Do you have a clip of that scene?

I've been trying to upload the clip for an hour but I keep receiving this notification:

That screenshot was too fuzzy to read @kilroy65. What does it say?

probus said:

That screenshot was too fuzzy to read @kilroy65. What does it say?

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Something went wrong. Please try again or contact the administrator.

Edit: The video clip I'm trying to upload is MP4, 16 MB.

teechar said:

Do you have a clip of that scene?

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I found a clip on YouTube that's not the one I've been trying to upload, but the police officer says, "Hon, [...] prowler needs a jump". It's at the very end of the video (the last few seconds).

kilroy65 said:

Something went wrong. Please try again or contact the administrator.

Edit: The video clip I'm trying to upload is MP4, 16 MB.

Click to expand...

I searched the Web and found the following website. Perhaps you can upload your MP4 file and share the link here.

I've attached the link; I hope it works for everyone.

Thank you for your helpful replies and suggestions. Now I understand the word has strictly regional usage or is probably dated.

@teechar Thank you for helping me upload the video. I was on the verge of a panic attack.

https://www.veed.io/view/dfa24d62-4748-4cad-8f94-8c15a01c8d94?panel=share

I wonder if the cop is saying that they (the police) should abandon their pursuit of some prowlers. Do you have a longer clip? More context might help clarify this.

teechar said:

I wonder if the cop is saying that they (the police) should abandon their pursuit of some prowlers.

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I don't think so. I've seen the film (1996) and the TV series (2014-2023). They refer to the police cars as "prowlers".

teechar said:

teechar said:

Do you have a longer clip? More context might help clarify this.

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Yes, they do appear to be referring to the (police) cars. I would guess that by "ditch", they probably mean "park". Thus, "ditch the prowlers" would mean "park the (police) cars".

By the way, this use of "ditch" would be non-standard, and I would not recommend using it.

I find that use of "ditch" natural because I don't see it as meaning "park". For me, it means "get rid of" or "stop using", as it frequently does.

It might be nonstandard (ditch), but an American would have no trouble understanding it.