Dead wagon

noun DED WAG-in dɛd ˈwaɡin mild

Also spelled dead-wagon, dead cart, hearse

A vehicle that carries the dead — a hearse, or the van that collects a body. 'Dead wagon' is a blunt, everyday name for the hearse, and to say it 'come fi yuh' is to speak grimly of death or of a beating serious enough to be fatal. It carries a dark, half-joking weight in ordinary talk, the kind of hard humour Jamaicans use to face the reality of dying.

  • Di dead wagon carry di body go a funeral home.

    The hearse carried the body to the funeral home.

  • Behave yuhself before di dead wagon come fi yuh.

    Behave yourself before the hearse comes for you.

  • Wi see di dead wagon pass slow.

    We saw the hearse pass slowly.

From 'dead' + 'wagon'; a blunt term for a hearse. See [[nine-night]], [[duppy]].

A blunt everyday name for a hearse; used grimly/darkly. See [[nine-night]], [[duppy]].