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chained_bear commented on the word black maria
Pronounced "ma-RYE-ah," this was a slang term for police wagons in the late nineteenth/early twentieth centuries. It became the nickname of the first motion picture studio, because of its resemblance to said wagons. The Black Maria was a tar-paper-covered building on the grounds of Thomas Edison's laboratory at West Orange, New Jersey, designed and built by his "mucker" William Kennedy Laurie Dickson. The roof cranked open to admit the sunlight necessary for filming, and the entire structure rotated on a track to follow the sun.
Dickson, assisted by William Heisse, filmed the first true motion pictures in the building. He later said, "I had to do my best to secure attractive subjects for the Kinetoscopes. No earthly stage has ever gathered within its precincts a more incongruous crew of actors." Some of the acts he filmed included: "Trick Dog Teddy... Madame Bertoldi, contortionist... Colonel Cody's (Buffalo Bill's) Shooting Skill... Colonel Cody and his Sioux Indians... Texan Cowboy Throwing Lassoes... Mexican Knife Thrower... Japanese Dancers." Each film was between 16 and 60 seconds long.
March 7, 2007
seanahan commented on the word black maria
There is also a seven-card stud variant called Black Maria(h), where the Queen of Spades (the black Mariah) resets the hand.
March 8, 2007
IndiaAmos commented on the word black maria
Also spelled mariah, with more examples at that listing.
November 29, 2009
jodi commented on the word black maria
"When I leave Moscow tonight, in a Black Maria,..." - Us Conductors, Sean Michaels, Chapter 7
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Maria "Black Maria, a slang term for a police van used to transport prisoners, originally these were horse drawn and so could take some time to arrive at a crime scene. “Black Maria” was a famous racehorse of the day, born in Harlem USA in 1826. The name was sardonically applied to the police carriages (which were also usually colored black)."
May 13, 2017
bilby commented on the word black maria
I first came across it in a Tom Waits song.
May 14, 2017