Black Maria

Black Maria

English

Etymology

Unknown, though such vans were traditionally painted black. First attested in the 1830s.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /blæk məˈɹaɪə/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪə

Noun

Black Maria (plural Black Marias)

1. (slang) A police van for transporting prisoners.
   • 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 Lower Ten ride.

Translations

a police van for transporting prisoners

Danish: salatfad n Finnish: mustamaija (fi), maija (fi) German: grüne Minna Norwegian: svartemarje (no) c Russian: тюре́мная каре́та f (tjurémnaja karéta), вороно́к (ru) m (voronók), чёрный во́рон m (čórnyj vóron), чёрная Мару́ся f (čórnaja Marúsja) Swedish: Svarta Maja c

See also

• paddy wagon

References

• Michael Quinion (2004), “Black Maria”, in Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds: Ingenious Tales of Words and Their Origins, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books in association with Penguin Books, →ISBN.