hoosegow

English

Alternative forms

• hoosgow
• hoosecow, hooscow

Etymology

From informal spoken Spanish juzgao, variant of standard Spanish juzgado (“court, courthouse”). Alteration of pronunciation and spelling by law of Hobson-Jobson.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhuːsɡaʊ/

Noun

hoosegow (plural hoosegows)

1. (US, slang) A jail.
   • 2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 424:

     There's parts of Mexico they'd take you straight to the hoosegow for just whistlin that.

   • 2011, Steven Pinker, The Better Angels of Our Nature, Penguin, published 2012, page 674:

     Philip Zimbardo set up a mock prison in the basement of the Stanford psychology department, divided the participants at random into ‘prisoners’ and ‘guards,’ and even got the Palo Alto police to arrest the prisoners and haul them to the campus hoosegow.