Entry from June 19, 2005
Bus (slang term for ambulance)
"Bus" is a slang term for "ambulance" that dates to before World War I.
(Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, Vol. I A-G)
bus n.
(...)
2. an automobile or other motor vehicle.
1914 T.A. Dorgan, in Zwilling TAD Lexicon 22: A friend of mine just bought a new car. A flivver...Thats like mine - some bus.
1916 W.J. Robinson At Front 121: The old 'bus made the most of what she had.
1917 Imbrie War Ambulance 115: A car was a "buss."
1917 in Dos Passos 14th Chronicle 92: Our ambulance however is simply peppered with holes - how the old bus holds together is more than I can make out.
(Google Groups)
Susan Dec 22 2002, 3:10 pm
Newsgroups: misc.emerg-services
From: Steve & Susan
Date: Sun, 22 Dec 2002 14:10:16 -0600
Local: Sun,Dec 22 2002 3:10 pm
Subject: Re: Slang for Ambulance
'Blance,
'Bamblance
(used in Jersey City, NJ along with "bus")
"Bus" is a New York City expression and has been so for many years. It's not a TV invention. Say it to any cop, firefighter or EMS worker in NYC and they'll know exactly what you mean.
In Missouri, ALS ambulances can be referred to as "LSV's" or life
support vehicles.
My old FD (for a brief time as an inside joke) referred to ambulances as "meat cars." (A firefighter with a speech impediment was really saying "police car" and the patient heard "meat car.").
Steve
(forever on the bus)
Aussie Medic Dec 22 2002, 5:09 pm
Newsgroups: misc.emerg-services
From: "Aussie Medic" -
Date: Sun, 22 Dec 2002 22:09:36 GMT
Local: Sun,Dec 22 2002 5:09 pm
Subject: Re: Slang for Ambulance
forgot "Big White Taxi" (see BRT for FF's) for the number of people who
treat us as a taxi service.....
John Noble Dec 22 2002, 6:21 pm
Newsgroups: misc.emerg-services
From: "John Noble" -
Date: Sun, 22 Dec 2002 23:20:14 GMT
Local: Sun,Dec 22 2002 6:20 pm
Subject: Re: Slang for Ambulance
I think in Los Angeles they call them "RA" for Rescue Ambulance.
Steve & Susan Dec 23 2002, 12:36 am
Newsgroups: misc.emerg-services
From: Steve & Susan
Date: Sun, 22 Dec 2002 23:36:06 -0600
Local: Mon,Dec 23 2002 12:36 am
Subject: Re: Slang for Ambulance
On Sun, 22 Dec 2002 23:27:37 -0500, Buff5200 wrote:
>Red Ball Express
Reminded me of a few more...
Tac-Z (sounds like Taxi - for Tactical paramedic unit "10 Zebra" old NYC*EMS Manhattan Boro Cmd,)
Orange & White Bus Company
Steve
Leigh Darnall Dec 23 2002, 8:53 am
Newsgroups: misc.emerg-services
From: Leigh Darnall .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 07:54:08 -0600
Local: Mon,Dec 23 2002 8:54 am
Subject: Re: Slang for Ambulance
Tennessee slang:
Med unit, unit, truck, rig or box. The last is used in a fairly
desperate plea - "Get me off the box NOW. I can't take it anymore" type stuff.
"Bus" must be a Yankee thing- I'd never heard it until Third Watch
happened to TV.
Oh, yeah, and "bumbolance." A bit of nonsense that drives my partner crazy.
--
Leigh Darnall
Itinerant Paramedic
Firefighter Wannabe
As wrong as a soup sandwich.
BCarney1123 Dec 23 2002, 11:21 pm
Newsgroups: misc.emerg-services
From: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) (BCarney1123)
Date: 24 Dec 2002 04:20:49 GMT
Local: Mon,Dec 23 2002 11:20 pm
Subject: Re: Slang for Ambulance
>"Bus" must be a Yankee thing- I'd never heard it until Third Watch
>happened to TV.
More like a NYC area thing. Around here if you say bus everyone knows your're talking about the ambulance. There are two stories I've heard for this term.
The most obvious one is the reference to picking up multiple people. Back in the days before the letters E-M-S meant anything it was not unheard of to be so busy that the "buses" would respond incident to incident picking up people on the way to the hospital.
Another reference is to the contract NYC had several years ago with the Grumann Corporation. Grumann was awarded a large contract to provide the City with Transit buses. Grumann also used to make ambulances and NYC EMS also used Grumann ambulances. Hence the "Bus" reference. We had two here in New Brunswick and they wouldn't die.
I'm sure some of our collegues from NYC could set the record straight if I'm mistaken.
Brian
New Brunswick, NJ
GaryS Dec 24 2002, 12:26 am
Newsgroups: misc.emerg-services
From: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Date: Tue, 24 Dec 2002 05:26:44 GMT
Local: Tues,Dec 24 2002 12:26 am
Subject: Re: Slang for Ambulance
On 24 Dec 2002 04:20:49 GMT, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) (BCarney1123) wrote:
> Another reference is to the contract NYC had several years ago with the Grumann
> Corporation. Grumann was awarded a large contract to provide the City with
> Transit buses. Grumann also used to make ambulances and NYC EMS also used
> Grumann ambulances. Hence the "Bus" reference. We had two here in New Brunswick
> and they wouldn't die.
That's the story that I've heard a number of times from people from NYC, so there might be some truth to it. However, Bob's story would seem to contradict that since it predates NYC's purchase of the Grumman ambulances by several years.
As for the durability, during WW II Navy pilots referred to the company as the "Grumman Iron Works" because the planes were so rugged and would keep flying with incredible damage.
Gary
danny burstein Dec 25 2002, 2:22 pm
Newsgroups: misc.emerg-services
From: danny burstein
Date: Wed, 25 Dec 2002 19:22:48 +0000 (UTC)
Local: Wed,Dec 25 2002 2:22 pm
Subject: Re: Slang for Ambulance
In "John Filangeri" writes:
>It's not from the Grummans. The term predates them by several decades at
>least. And, the Grummans were truck chassis modulars (type I). Nothing like
>a bus. I would imagine it came from the old "bread truck" (similar to
>trucks used to deliver fresh bread every morning to local groceries)
>ambulances. They looked quite a bit like a sawed-off bus.
I have been told by some of the fossilized dinosaurs in NYC's EMS group (you know, the folk who were around back when "DIT" was a checkoff box on the ambulance call reports) that the term (which predated my arrival in the system) comes from the old Dep't of Hospital days.
Way back then a significant amount of patient transport was done by multi-passenger vehicles, kind of like the access-a-ride units now in use for the handicapped. So yes, patients would wait for the (medical) "bus" as it made its rounds.
danny " however, these same people have told me about the snipe hunts and treating injuries from cow tipping and recovering bodies after seregators got to them, so I'm not sure how much to trust them " burstein
(Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, Vol. I A-G)
bus n.
(...)
2. an automobile or other motor vehicle.
1914 T.A. Dorgan, in Zwilling TAD Lexicon 22: A friend of mine just bought a new car. A flivver...Thats like mine - some bus.
1916 W.J. Robinson At Front 121: The old 'bus made the most of what she had.
1917 Imbrie War Ambulance 115: A car was a "buss."
1917 in Dos Passos 14th Chronicle 92: Our ambulance however is simply peppered with holes - how the old bus holds together is more than I can make out.
(Google Groups)
Susan Dec 22 2002, 3:10 pm
Newsgroups: misc.emerg-services
From: Steve & Susan
Date: Sun, 22 Dec 2002 14:10:16 -0600
Local: Sun,Dec 22 2002 3:10 pm
Subject: Re: Slang for Ambulance
'Blance,
'Bamblance
(used in Jersey City, NJ along with "bus")
"Bus" is a New York City expression and has been so for many years. It's not a TV invention. Say it to any cop, firefighter or EMS worker in NYC and they'll know exactly what you mean.
In Missouri, ALS ambulances can be referred to as "LSV's" or life
support vehicles.
My old FD (for a brief time as an inside joke) referred to ambulances as "meat cars." (A firefighter with a speech impediment was really saying "police car" and the patient heard "meat car.").
Steve
(forever on the bus)
Aussie Medic Dec 22 2002, 5:09 pm
Newsgroups: misc.emerg-services
From: "Aussie Medic"
Date: Sun, 22 Dec 2002 22:09:36 GMT
Local: Sun,Dec 22 2002 5:09 pm
Subject: Re: Slang for Ambulance
forgot "Big White Taxi" (see BRT for FF's) for the number of people who
treat us as a taxi service.....
John Noble Dec 22 2002, 6:21 pm
Newsgroups: misc.emerg-services
From: "John Noble"
Date: Sun, 22 Dec 2002 23:20:14 GMT
Local: Sun,Dec 22 2002 6:20 pm
Subject: Re: Slang for Ambulance
I think in Los Angeles they call them "RA" for Rescue Ambulance.
Steve & Susan Dec 23 2002, 12:36 am
Newsgroups: misc.emerg-services
From: Steve & Susan
Date: Sun, 22 Dec 2002 23:36:06 -0600
Local: Mon,Dec 23 2002 12:36 am
Subject: Re: Slang for Ambulance
On Sun, 22 Dec 2002 23:27:37 -0500, Buff5200
>Red Ball Express
Reminded me of a few more...
Tac-Z (sounds like Taxi - for Tactical paramedic unit "10 Zebra" old NYC*EMS Manhattan Boro Cmd,)
Orange & White Bus Company
Steve
Leigh Darnall Dec 23 2002, 8:53 am
Newsgroups: misc.emerg-services
From: Leigh Darnall .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 07:54:08 -0600
Local: Mon,Dec 23 2002 8:54 am
Subject: Re: Slang for Ambulance
Tennessee slang:
Med unit, unit, truck, rig or box. The last is used in a fairly
desperate plea - "Get me off the box NOW. I can't take it anymore" type stuff.
"Bus" must be a Yankee thing- I'd never heard it until Third Watch
happened to TV.
Oh, yeah, and "bumbolance." A bit of nonsense that drives my partner crazy.
--
Leigh Darnall
Itinerant Paramedic
Firefighter Wannabe
As wrong as a soup sandwich.
BCarney1123 Dec 23 2002, 11:21 pm
Newsgroups: misc.emerg-services
From: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) (BCarney1123)
Date: 24 Dec 2002 04:20:49 GMT
Local: Mon,Dec 23 2002 11:20 pm
Subject: Re: Slang for Ambulance
>"Bus" must be a Yankee thing- I'd never heard it until Third Watch
>happened to TV.
More like a NYC area thing. Around here if you say bus everyone knows your're talking about the ambulance. There are two stories I've heard for this term.
The most obvious one is the reference to picking up multiple people. Back in the days before the letters E-M-S meant anything it was not unheard of to be so busy that the "buses" would respond incident to incident picking up people on the way to the hospital.
Another reference is to the contract NYC had several years ago with the Grumann Corporation. Grumann was awarded a large contract to provide the City with Transit buses. Grumann also used to make ambulances and NYC EMS also used Grumann ambulances. Hence the "Bus" reference. We had two here in New Brunswick and they wouldn't die.
I'm sure some of our collegues from NYC could set the record straight if I'm mistaken.
Brian
New Brunswick, NJ
GaryS Dec 24 2002, 12:26 am
Newsgroups: misc.emerg-services
From: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Date: Tue, 24 Dec 2002 05:26:44 GMT
Local: Tues,Dec 24 2002 12:26 am
Subject: Re: Slang for Ambulance
On 24 Dec 2002 04:20:49 GMT, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) (BCarney1123) wrote:
> Another reference is to the contract NYC had several years ago with the Grumann
> Corporation. Grumann was awarded a large contract to provide the City with
> Transit buses. Grumann also used to make ambulances and NYC EMS also used
> Grumann ambulances. Hence the "Bus" reference. We had two here in New Brunswick
> and they wouldn't die.
That's the story that I've heard a number of times from people from NYC, so there might be some truth to it. However, Bob's story would seem to contradict that since it predates NYC's purchase of the Grumman ambulances by several years.
As for the durability, during WW II Navy pilots referred to the company as the "Grumman Iron Works" because the planes were so rugged and would keep flying with incredible damage.
Gary
danny burstein Dec 25 2002, 2:22 pm
Newsgroups: misc.emerg-services
From: danny burstein
Date: Wed, 25 Dec 2002 19:22:48 +0000 (UTC)
Local: Wed,Dec 25 2002 2:22 pm
Subject: Re: Slang for Ambulance
In
>It's not from the Grummans. The term predates them by several decades at
>least. And, the Grummans were truck chassis modulars (type I). Nothing like
>a bus. I would imagine it came from the old "bread truck" (similar to
>trucks used to deliver fresh bread every morning to local groceries)
>ambulances. They looked quite a bit like a sawed-off bus.
I have been told by some of the fossilized dinosaurs in NYC's EMS group (you know, the folk who were around back when "DIT" was a checkoff box on the ambulance call reports) that the term (which predated my arrival in the system) comes from the old Dep't of Hospital days.
Way back then a significant amount of patient transport was done by multi-passenger vehicles, kind of like the access-a-ride units now in use for the handicapped. So yes, patients would wait for the (medical) "bus" as it made its rounds.
danny " however, these same people have told me about the snipe hunts and treating injuries from cow tipping and recovering bodies after seregators got to them, so I'm not sure how much to trust them " burstein
Commenting is not available in this channel entry.