behind prison walls
- idiom
- Literature
:
detrás de las rejas
- The book gives readers a rare glimpse of life behind prison walls.
Examples
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Many important reforms were inspired by stories from those living behind prison walls.
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He spent twenty years behind prison walls after being wrongly convicted.
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He spent five years behind prison walls.
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Life behind prison walls can be very challenging.
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He spent twenty years behind prison walls after being wrongly convicted.
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The book gives readers a rare glimpse of life behind prison walls.
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Many important reforms were inspired by stories from those living behind prison walls.
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally describes being located 'behind' the 'prison walls' — i.e. inside a prison — so its meaning is directly inferable from the constituent words. This locative composition is a common, cross-linguistic pattern and follows standard English spatial phrasing, making it comprehensible to a B1 learner who knows the components.
Etymology
Behind prison walls comes from the simple picture of a prison with high walls that keep people inside. The image of people behind the high walls of a prison helps us remember it means 'in prison' and describes the life inside.
