Paddy-wagon is attested by 1930, perhaps so called because many police officers were Irish. Paddywhack (1811) originally meant “an Irishman;” with the second element apparently added vaguely for emphasis.
It’s not clear if it’s a slur or not, or just slang for referring to an Irishman.
I think it might be closer to referring to a Scotsman as “a Scot” than anything pejorative.
Then again, you never know with the English… and it ultimately comes down to how the Irish feel about it
https://www.etymonline.com/word/paddy
It’s not clear if it’s a slur or not, or just slang for referring to an Irishman.
I think it might be closer to referring to a Scotsman as “a Scot” than anything pejorative.
Then again, you never know with the English… and it ultimately comes down to how the Irish feel about it
I think anything that’s slang for an ethnic group has like a 90% probability of being a slur
If it doesn’t start as one, it becomes one.