[Ads-l] paddy wagon

[Wilson Gray]

> Even if it's true that it's a reference to Irishmen...

Re-reading my comment, I now see that it can be inferred that I doubt that
"paddy" is a reference to Irishmen. What I meant to say is that *I* simply
had no idea that there was supposed to be any connection between "paddy"
and Irishmen until quite recently. How does the Rev. dare pretend not only
to know the connection, but also to care about it?

On Fri, Jul 28, 2017 at 5:09 PM, Peter Reitan <pjreitan at hotmail.com> wrote:

> 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
>
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: paddy wagon
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> -------------------
>
> 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."
> >
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> > 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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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
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> 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

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