[Ads-l] paddy wagon

[Cohen, Gerald Leonard]

For those interested:

Comments on Etymology (series of working papers) presented

the following item in vol. 45,  #2, Nov. 2015, pp. 2-9:

‘Paddy Wagon “Police Van” -- Stephen Goranson Discovers Its First

Meaning Was “Wheelbarrow”.’



Gerald Cohen

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------



ADSGarson O'Toole adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM<mailto:adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM> wrote (July 28, 2017):

In April 2015 Stephen Goranson initiated a discussion thread about
"paddy wagon" by presenting some intriguing citations:

http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2015-April/136543.html

[Begin excerpt]
Though "paddy wagon" came to be associated with police vehicles, some
early uses associate it with wheelbarrows. OED (via Sam Clements) has
1909 for "paddy wagon."
[End excerpt]

I presented some complementary matches for "Paddy's wheelbarrow".
http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2015-April/136625.html

The OED has the following definition for "paddy" and notes that it can
be derogatory.

[Begin excerpt]
paddy, n.2
1. colloq.
 a. Usually in form Paddy. An Irishman. Frequently used as a
derogatory form of address.
1714   in R. Steele Poetical Misc. 201   Poor Paddy swears his whole
Week's Gains away.
[End excerpt]

Here is the OED information for "paddy wagon" which is listed under
"paddy, n.2".

[Begin excerpt]
paddy wagon  n. slang (orig. U.S.) a police van or car.

1909   Chicago Tribune 12 Sept. v. 3/1   Don't it make you think of
the paddy wagon going down the street to pinch a gambling joint?
[End excerpt]

Garson




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