A Washington Post op-ed published on Tuesday complained that President Donald Trump's use of the term "paddy wagon" was offensive to the Irish.
In a speech to law enforcement on Long Island Friday, Trump prompted criticism by joking about police officers manhandling gang members.
"When you see these thugs being thrown into the back of a paddy wagon — you just see them thrown in, rough — I said, please don't be too nice," Trump said.
While most criticism focused on the seeming endorsement of police violence, John Jay College of Criminal Justice professor James Mulvaney complained that "President Trump's reference to 'paddy wagon' insults Irish Americans like me."
"To many Irish Americans like myself, the phrase is insulting," Mulvaney wrote. "It should not be used in polite discourse."
Mulvaney noted that the origin of the phrase is unclear. One theory is that it emerged in Boston and New York in the mid-19th century, when police vans would pick up large amounts of drunk "Paddies," a slur for the Irish.
But even Mulvaney admitted, "Etymologists are somewhat skeptical of that theory. In newspapers and other sources from the 1800s, 'paddy wagon' typically refers to a wheelbarrow. Merriam-Webster says that 'paddy wagon,' meaning police vehicle, came into use in 1909."
Still, he insisted the phrase is offensive.
"That doesn't take the sting out of the phrase when I hear it," he wrote.
This is not the first time Mulvaney complained about the phrase. In 2015, he protested when the New York Times included the term in its crossword.
"Puzzle editor Will Shortz dismissed my objections, writing: 'The Irish are not a group that's discriminated against in the U.S.,'" he recounted. "That's generally true. But each use of the phrase 'paddy wagon' evokes a time when they were."