Re: USAGE: THEORY/USAGE: irregular English plurals (was: RE:

John Cowan writes:
 > And Rosta scripsit:
 >
 > > the fuzz
 >
 > Just to confuse the issue, it seems that this can mean "a policeman"
 > as well as "the police", as in the Tom Paxton song:
 >
 >         I thought you were an Arab ['ejR&b]
 >         Saw the desert in your eyes
 >         I thought of asking for a job in Abu Dhabi
 >         Till you sprang that big surprise.
 >
 >         You handed me the money
 >         Just like a real Arab does
 >         So I thought you were an Arab
 >         And all the time you were the fuzz.
 >
 > In other verses, we find "the heat", "the law" in the same sense.
 > Technically, members of the Federal Bureau of Ineptitude are called
 > "special agents".
 >
I would understand this as synecdoche, specifically the whole standing
for the part.  As such, "the police" could be substituted here.