hoosgow

9.9

A place where people are kept after being arrested

noun
/ˈhuːsɡoʊ/

Archaic

: cárcel

After getting caught stealing, he found himself in the hoosgow for six months.

Examples

And apparently there is a state congressman in Chicago who was also reelected overwhelmingly, even though he has one foot in the hoosgow already.

Blog text (11)
Once he was sentenced, the judge declared that he would serve time in the hoosgow.
The man was terrified of going back to the hoosgow after his last conviction.

Synonyms

jailhouse

vshoosgow

42 4.1

A building where police keep people who are waiting for trial or serving a sentence

is the slang term used informally for that same kind of place

slammer

vshoosgow

Slang

32 9.8

A prison or jail where people are kept after arrest

is the neutral slang word for the place where people are held

hoosegow

vshoosgow

Archaic

5 9.9

A jail or prison where people go when they break the law

is identical in sense but differs as an alternate spelling

poky

vshoosgow

Slang

1 9.9

A small, dirty local jail

is a general slang name not stressing smallness or poor condition

choky

vshoosgow

Archaic

1 9.9

A prison or jail

is the general slang term without the British or dated label

chokey

vshoosgow

Archaic

1 9.9

A prison where people are kept as punishment for a crime

is the general slang term without the British or dated label

Antonyms

freedom

∞ 1.0

The right to act, speak, or think as you want without being stopped

release

279 1.8

An act of letting someone or something go free from being held

Surface Forms

hoosgow singular

hoosgows plural

Etymology

Hoosgow comes from the Spanish juzgado, which means 'court' or 'judge's office'. In the US Southwest English speakers used that word for places of law, and later hoosgow became slang for 'jail', so today it means a prison.