noun, phrase General Slang

paddy wagon

· noun, phrase · police

A police van for hauling arrestees.

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Definitions

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The police van that scoops up the cuffed and drives them to the station. Name's grim — 'Paddy' was a slur for Irish people, and the term comes from either Irish-American cops driving them or Irish immigrants filling the back. Still in everyday US use, history attached.

“By midnight there were six of them in the back of the paddy wagon.”
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paddy wagon In A Sentence

By midnight there were six of them in the back of the paddy wagon.

Origin & Usage

Late 19th-century US, from 'Paddy' (slur for Irish) — either referring to Irish-American police officers or Irish arrestees in 1800s American cities.

Variants paddywagon

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