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A meter maid is a female member of a police traffic control department who issues tickets for parking violations. The term is generally being replaced with parking attendant or other gender-neutral terms.In pop culture, the term is best known for the Beatles' song Lovely Rita, Meter Maid, in which the male singer, smitten with Rita, recalls:
- Standing by a parking meter, when I caught a glimpse of Rita
- Filling in a ticket in her little white book.
- In a cap she looked much older,
- And the bag across her shoulder
- Made her look a little like a military man.
In the United Kingdom a meter maid is called a traffic warden, although the term is equally applied to male traffic controllers too. Traffic wardens are not part of the police but work for district or city councils.
