why is a police van called a black maria

The transport would usually be summoned by means of a public telephone, if one was available and not vandalised. Black and white is a term used in the US for a police car that is painted in large panels of black and white. By personification. Black maria definition, patrol wagon. The van is reinforced with metal and is secure to prevent people from escaping. What is the significance of the Black Mariah as a transport? When Black Marias initially came into use, they were wagons that were painted black or very dark blue with fiery red wheels instead of petrol chugging machines. Black Maria - Wikipedia Black maria Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com an Irishman or a person of Irish descent. It is important to note that not all police vans have the same appearance. These were in the form of a horse-drawn carriage and allowed the police to carry more equipment, but they also gave them a far safer way to move criminals. World Wide Words tries to record at least a part of this shifting wordscape by featuring new words, word histories, words in the news, and the curiosities of native English speech. There are at least three theories as how the phrase originated. A gun that ejects a shell emitting a dense cloud of smoke (1915); the shell or its burst (Oct. 1914): military. Here at CILISOS, we believe that the only way to consume information is with a serious dose of flavour. While functioning as an ambulance, a Black Maria is not held to the same . 1867, Tony Pastor, "The Upper and Lower Ten Thousand", in Tony Pastor's Book of Six Hundred Comic Songs and Speeches: The Upper Ten Thousand have plenty of cash At the Central Park, on the "Drive," cut a dash; They have their light wagons, fast horses beside; In the free "Black Maria" the . Yorkshire breaking news and updates sent straight to your inbox. The website cannot function properly without these cookies. Donate via PayPal. It was purchased for $10,000 and returned to Saint Paul with the financial assistance of the City Council, the greater police community including Saint Paul Police Federation members, as well as donations from the general public. Marketing cookies are used to track visitors across websites. I'm sure I've delved into Maria's etymology before (they can't touch you for it) but for some strange reason it cropped up again the other night as a group of us stood around the bar. BUT, most importantly, the very same van, known to us as the black maria, was the usual means of transport for assisting officers effecting a street arrest, to convey their prisoner(s) to the Bridewell, unless of course within walking distance. Its not as though he could find the earliest possible citation by running a search engine.

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