paddy

• A caller, who was Irish, disagreed, saying that the term paddy came about because of the nickname for policemen, which referred to St. Patrick, and wagon just meant the vehicle they used to pick up the people who were creating a disturbance. —  The Word Detective
• But while paddy certainly was used as an insult in the past, and the Irish were without doubt the victims of discrimination, I think that it takes a pretty thin skin to find a grave insult in the term paddy wagon . —  The Word Detective
• That paddy is also used in nonpejorative senses (Saint Paddy's Day) has also robbed the word of its sting, as opposed to words such as wop , which have always been, and probably always will be, grave insults The use of PADDY WAGON as a  slang term for o police van dates back to the 1910 pandemonium Q: My husband and I disagree as to the origin of the word pandemonium . —  The Word Detective
• The Land-Rover slithered and slued along this endless rice paddy, the wheels throwing mud in all directions. —  Kahawa
• He raced across the paddy, the mud sucking at his boots with every stride, the crack and whine of bullets and shrapnel all about him. —  Brown Waters, Black Berets

Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

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