[Ads-l] paddy wagon

[Peter Reitan]

Even if it's true that it's a reference to Irishmen, they were typically hired as policemen who manned and operated the police wagons, so it's more descriptive than derogatory. Not every race/ethnic reference is a slur.
________________________________
From: Wilson Gray<mailto:hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
Sent: ‎7/‎28/‎2017 15:54
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU<mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Re: paddy wagon

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Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: paddy wagon
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I wonder when Al discovered that it was a slur? I spent the greater portion
of my life thinking that _paddy-wagon_ < "patty-wagon" < "patrol-wagon,"
with no reference to race or ethnicity. I've been familiar with _paddy_
itself since the beginning of time, but only as a synonym of e.g. _fade_
"white person" (as opposed to _shade_ "black person").

On Fri, Jul 28, 2017 at 4:29 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
wrote:

> The Rev. Al Sharpton on MSNBC's _Deadline: White House_:
>
> "[Now President Trump is] talking about 'paddy wagons' which, by the way,
> is a *slur*, Mr. President!"
>
> 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
>



--
-Wilson
-----
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-Mark Twain

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