bass

bass - noun - Any of numerous edible, spiny-finned, freshwater or marine fishes of the families serranidae and centrarchidae; the lowest adult male voice; the lowest pitch or range.

posse comitatus

posse comitatus – n - The body of persons that a peace officer of a county is empowered to call upon for assistance in preserving the peace, making arrests, and serving writs; a body of persons so called into service.

This definition is okay as far as it goes, but it doesn't go far enough. I was more interested in the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which, to oversimplify a bit, forbids the military to be used as a police force. The PCA has been invoked by those who argue against use of armed forces to guard our borders. I can see the arguments in favor of the act itself, but I wonder if we shouldn't be paying more attention to the southern invasion.

By the way, the common term is posse.

The greatest posse novel I'm aware of is The Ox-Bow Incident, by Walter Van Tilburg Clark, which was also made into a good movie back in the 50s.