hoosegow
Americannoun
noun
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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Facing such a grim stint in the hoosegow, Menendez responded to his sentence by flattering Trump.
From Slate ● Feb. 1, 2025
Here he is with a program that spent recent years lodged in the psychic hoosegow of the federal recruiting investigation, going 17-15 with no tournament in 2019 and 17-9 with no eligibility in 2021.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 16, 2022
When her son’s father ends up in the hoosegow, an Oakland woman must play single mom in the comedy-drama “Blindspotting.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2021
Cersei’s old nemesis Margaery, meanwhile, is still in the hoosegow, taking her own turn with the Nurse Ratched of TV nuns.
From New York Times ● Apr. 24, 2016
Anatole, fresh out of the hoosegow, met us in Brazzaville and they drove straight back home to Kinshasa.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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.
