Mick (mIk) n. [shortened form of Michael]
1866 Catholic World The Adventure 846 And the worst of it is Mick may be out, or drunk and then we’re done for. 1885 A.G. Thomas 251 A Recent Irish Novel Molly Morony has been given a hunch of ‘white’ bread by the priest’s housekeeper, and she resolves to share it with her playfellow and little brother, Mick. 1917 C. Dickens David Copperfield, Chap XI line viii His name was Mick Walker, and he wore a ragged apron and a paper cap. 2001 C. MacConnell Irish Voice In his case it had been Mick Leonard who had been picking the fight.
c. 1854 Jordan is a Hard Road to Travel (song sheet) Only say that you're a ‘Mick,’ and you'll get a kick. 1914 H. James A maid, a mick and a Ford: a farce comedy. (Title of play). 1938 H. Spector How Does She Come to Him. The crazy mick is out again…That's what they used to call Vincent Coll- ‘the crazy mick’. 1939 L. Fusco Wood lore. My experience is that the brats react to the instruction as typically native born kids, which they are, whether 'Wop', 'Kike', 'Mick', or 'Merican.’ 1962 E. Palmore American Journal of Sociology 444 Of the fifty-one ethnophaulisms applied to other Caucasian groups…Seven are corruptions of common first names (.."mick," from the Irish name Michael). 1996 Race Traitor In 1995 we were called ‘micks’ by the drama critic at the Mercury News.
1924 P.Marks Plastic Age 201 (OED) I suppose you refer to..my one mick friend, although he isn’t Irish.
1893 S. Crane. Maggie ‘Dese micks can’t make me run.’
Paddy (‘pa-dE) n. [diminutive form of Irish names Padraig or Patrick]
- Proper name, usually associated with individual of Irish descent.
H.D. DeMarsen Paddy Miles (song sheet) So my name now is Paddy O'Connor, 'Pon an Irishman's thrue word an honor. 1883 M. Conway The Saint Patrick Myth 363 "It is a small thing now whether we call our stage Irishman after Palladius or Patrick, whether ‘Paddy’ or ‘Pat,’ but we are using the watchwords of an ancient and long conflict. 1922 P. Column (ed.) The Wearin’ o’ the Green (poem) line i OH, Paddy dear! and did ye hear the news that’s goin’ round?
2. Derogatory term for individual of Irish descent
1859 The Professor at the Breakfast Table 500 I could never meet an Irish gentleman—if it had been the Duke of Wellington himself—without stumbling upon the word ‘Paddy,’—which I use rarely in my common talk. 1870 Pat to the Question 276 By reference to..’an act to increase Duties on Imports,’ etc., we find ‘on paddy one cent and a half per pound.’ 1888 H. James Two Countries 94 ‘I see—so that even if the Yankee were to let me off, the Paddy would come down! That’s a most unholy combination.’ 1952 C. Wittke The Immigrant Theme on the American Stage 213 When Paddy arrived, clad in caped and high-waisted coat, brimless caubeen, knee breeches, woolen stockings, and rusty brogues, he was herded by immigrant runners and ‘shoulder hitters’ into the broken-down shacks of Irish ‘shanty towns.’ 1997 J. Dolan Anti-Irish Racism in the United States The fear of Paddy and the Pope led to a Know Nothing landslide in the 1854 state election.
- In African-American English, a derogatory word for any white person
1938 Reminiscences A song which some of the negroes sang went like this: 'Run, nigger, run! Paddy roller will catch you!' 1966 Saturday Review 15 Oct. 74/2 (OED) Man, how I hate Paddies (white people)!
4. Slang for a railway worker
1894 J. Flynt. Old Boston Mary 318 "When first built, it belonged to a ‘Paddy’ on the railway; and after various generations of this proprietary family had passed on to the better quarters that Boston provides for its ambitious Irish citizens.
Works Referenced
"The Adventure." Catholic World. Mar. 1866 Making of America Project. University of Michigan. 2000 <http://www.hti.umich.edu/m/moajrnl/>.
Colum, Padraic (ed). "The Wearin’ O’ the Green." Anthology of Irish Verse. New York: Boni & Liveright. 1922; Bartleby.com, 2000. <www.bartleby.com/250/>.
Conway, Moncure. "The Saint Patrick Myth." The North American Review, 1883 Making of America Project. Cornell University Library, 1999. <http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa.html>.
Crane, Stephen. "Maggie: A Girl of the Streets." The Red Badge of Courage, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, and Other Selected Writings. Lexington, MA: DC Heath & Co, 2000.
Dickens, Charles. The Personal History and Experience of David Copperfield the Younger. Vols. VII & VIII. Harvard Classics Shelf of Fiction. New York: P.F. Collier & Son, 1917; Bartleby.com, 2000. <www.bartleby.com/307/>.
Dolan, Jay P. Anti-Irish Racism in the United States. Aug. 1997 <http://migration.ucc.ie/conferences%20and%20publications/conferences/scattering/conferencepapers/Prof.%20Jay%20P.%20Dolan.htm>.
Flynt, Josiah. "Old Boston Mary: A Remembrance." Atlantic Monthly. Sept. 1894 Making of America Project. Cornell University Library, 1999. <http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa.html>.
Fusco, Lena. "Wood-Lore." American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936-1940. 1939. Library of Congress, Oct. 1998. <http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/wpahome.html>.
"How Does She Come to Him?" American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936-1940. 1938. Library of Congress, Oct. 1998. <http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/wpahome.html>.
James, Henry Newton. "A Maid, a Mick and a Ford: A Farce Comedy." The American Variety Stage: Vaudeville and Popular Entertainment 1870-1920. 1914 Library of Congress Oct.1991. <http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/vshtml/vshome.html>.
James, Henry. "Two Countries: A Story." Harpers New Monthly Magazine June 1888 Making of America Project. Cornell University Library, 1999. <http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa.html>.
"Jordan Is a Hard Road to Travel, No. 6" America Singing: Nineteenth Century Song Sheets. Library of Congress, Oct. 1998. <http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/amsshtml/amsshome.html>.
MacConnell, Cormac. "West’s Awake: Irish Fight Club." Irish Voice 17 April 2001. Ethnic News Watch . Softline Information, Inc. <http://www.softlineweb.com/softlineweb/ethnic.htm>.
"Mick." Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989
"Paddy." Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989
"Paddy Miles" America Singing: Nineteenth Century Song Sheets. No Date. Library of Congress, 22 Oct. 1998. <http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/amsshtml/amsshome.html>.
Palmore, Erdman. "Ethnophaulisms and Ethnocentrism." American Journal of Sociology, 67.4 (1962): 442-445.
"Pat to the Question" Punchinello. July 1870. Making of America Project. Cornell University Library. <http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa.html>.
"Professor at the Breakfast Table, The" Atlantic Monthly. April 1859. Making of America Project. Cornell University Library, 1999. <http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa.html>.
Race Traitor: The Rogue Debate. Race Traitor. 17 Mar. 1996 <http://www.postfun.com/racetraitor/features/debate.html>.
Thomas, A.G. "A Recent Irish Novel" in Catholic World, May 1885. Making of America Project. University of Michigan, 2000 <http://www.hti.umich.edu/m/moajrnl/>.
Wittke, Carl. "The Immigrant Theme on the American Stage." The Mississippi Valley Historical Review 39.2 (1952): 211-232.
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