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hoosegow

American  
[hoos-gou] / ˈhus gaʊ /
Or hoosgow

noun

Slang.

  1. a jail.

hoosegow British  
/ ˈhuːsɡaʊ /

noun

  1. a slang word for jail

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of hoosegow

1860–65, < Mexican Spanish jusgado jail ( Spanish: court of justice, originally past participle of juzgar to judge) < Latin jūdicātum, equivalent to jūdic- (stem of jūdex ) judge + -ātum -ate 1

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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