Padraig, Patrick and Paddy Wagons
By ALEXANDRA LYLE
While celebrating St. Patrick’s Day recently, I got to thinking once again about the term “paddy wagon.” The first time I heard this term was in Canada. It is not a term I had ever heard in my 29 years in Ireland, so I was taken aback to hear it when I immigrated to Canada, a country known for its polite, thoughtful and socially aware people.
I know that no offense is meant by Canadians (or by Americans, Australians and New Zealanders) when they refer to a paddy wagon. Just as no offense was meant by the term “Eskimo,” until the people that word referred to said they’d prefer to be called Inuit since, to them, “Eskimo” was offensive.
I’ve learned, too, since arriving in Canada that the term “Indian giver” (someone who takes back a gift he has given) is offensive and not acceptable.
When I mentioned to my Canadian friends and colleagues my offense at the term “paddy wagon,” they were surprised and told me they had just never thought about the word before; it was simply part of their language.
One even implied that, because the Irish are seen as a powerful group in society, we should just accept the term as part of the language now. A powerful group? Things have clearly moved on, then, from the days of the “No Irish Need Apply” signs. And I’m sure Canadians wouldn’t dare call a paddy wagon a Chink, wop or spic wagon (gasp!) instead.
My Oxford Canadian Dictionary (“paddy wagon” is not listed in my Oxford English Dictionary) lists the term paddy wagon as slang for a police van used for transporting prisoners or people who have been arrested.
The term “Paddy” (when not an Irishman’s given name) is listed as offensive slang for an Irishman. Unless the origin of paddy wagon has something to do with fields where rice is grown, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to consider the term paddy wagon just as offensive as the term Paddy.
Isn’t the whole point of political correctness that we do in fact give some thought to the words we use? Don’t we want to keep the accurate and appropriate designations if they are relevant to the context, and avoid using stereotypical labels that are neither accurate nor relevant? And shouldn’t such sensitivity and thoughtfulness be shown to all groups, the mainstream and powerful included?
Many a Canuck – I see by my trusty Oxford Canadian dictionary that this term is an informal one (but not yet offensive) for a Canadian – has proudly informed me of how much Canadians enjoy their beer, that Canadian beer is stronger than American beer and that Canadians like it that way.
Some Canadians, when they’ve had too much to drink, even get arrested and transported by the police in a van. So then I thought, since I’m in Canada now, it’s only appropriate and relevant that I find an alternative to the (offensive) term “paddy wagon”. I thought, perhaps, Canuck wagon could be used instead. What do you think? With a small c, of course.
Oxford English Dictionary (2001)
Paddy: (noun) Informal, offensive. An Irishman. (From the Irish man’s name Padraig) (2) a field where rice is grown.
paddy wagon: not listed.
Oxford Canadian Dictionary (2000 and 2004)
Paddy: (noun) Informal often offensive. An Irishman.
paddy wagon: N. Amer., Austral., & NZ slang. A police van for transporting prisoners or people who have been arrested.
Indian giver: not listed
Compact Dictionary of Canadian English (1970)
(Holt, Rinehart and Winston of Canada Ltd.)
Paddy: not listed
paddy wagon: not listed
paddy: (1) rice in the husk, either growing or gathered. (2) a rice field.
Indian giver (informal) a person who takes back a gift he has given
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