as in jail
a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
they ended up in the hoosegow for disorderly conduct
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Recent Examples of hoosegow
Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park Carved from granite cliffs overlooking the Colorado River, Yuma Prison was the Old West’s most notorious hoosegow, garnering a fearsome reputation.
—
Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 1 Jan. 2025
In prison, there are Keene’s encounters with a real-life mob boss and a manipulative guard to add tension, and just enough mayhem to remind you that this is no ordinary hoosegow.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2022
Her ex — still in the hoosegow in Los Angeles — was tried and sentenced to a two-year stretch at San Quentin.
—Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2022
From 1868 to 1890, legend says Wickenburg scofflaws were chained to a mesquite tree that served as the town hoosegow.
—Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 28 Nov. 2020
Most famously, in 1968 Johnny Cash serenaded state inmates at the max-security Folsom Prison in California, later turning the hoosegow act into a live album titled At Folsom Prison.
—Keri Blakinger, Houston Chronicle, 15 Nov. 2019
Carved from a granite cliff overlooking the Colorado River, this was America’s most notorious 19th century hoosegow.
—Roger Naylor, azcentral, 4 Oct. 2019
And Blankenship has charged that Manchin, who was governor at the time of the mine explosion, conspired with Barack Obama (not a popular figure in West Virginia) to send him to the hoosegow.
—Ed Kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, 20 Mar. 2018
And worse yet from the governor’s point of view, the prosecutor with jurisdiction over these matters is the same one trying to send him to the hoosegow for the privacy and blackmail charge, St. Louis circuit attorney Kim Gardner.
—Ed Kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, 17 Apr. 2018
Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 1 Jan. 2025
In prison, there are Keene’s encounters with a real-life mob boss and a manipulative guard to add tension, and just enough mayhem to remind you that this is no ordinary hoosegow.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2022
Her ex — still in the hoosegow in Los Angeles — was tried and sentenced to a two-year stretch at San Quentin.
—Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2022
From 1868 to 1890, legend says Wickenburg scofflaws were chained to a mesquite tree that served as the town hoosegow.
—Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 28 Nov. 2020
Most famously, in 1968 Johnny Cash serenaded state inmates at the max-security Folsom Prison in California, later turning the hoosegow act into a live album titled At Folsom Prison.
—Keri Blakinger, Houston Chronicle, 15 Nov. 2019
Carved from a granite cliff overlooking the Colorado River, this was America’s most notorious 19th century hoosegow.
—Roger Naylor, azcentral, 4 Oct. 2019
And Blankenship has charged that Manchin, who was governor at the time of the mine explosion, conspired with Barack Obama (not a popular figure in West Virginia) to send him to the hoosegow.
—Ed Kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, 20 Mar. 2018
And worse yet from the governor’s point of view, the prosecutor with jurisdiction over these matters is the same one trying to send him to the hoosegow for the privacy and blackmail charge, St. Louis circuit attorney Kim Gardner.
—Ed Kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, 17 Apr. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hoosegow
Noun
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As reported in 5280, Richard served 30 days in jail and 60 nights of work release.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
15 July 2025
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Here’s hoping the real-life couple’s big day went more smoothly than Elizabeth and Henry’s Season 5 vow renewal, which took place at an Arizona jail after she was arrested for speaking out against draconian family separation policies at the United States border.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
15 July 2025
Noun
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Based on true events, the Gorgona Island prison, 34 miles off the Pacific coast, was once one of the most brutal of tropical penitentiary for murderers, rapists and political prisoners, notorious for its use of torture.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
15 July 2025
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The perspective of the newspapers is also critical because most information about incarceration comes from law enforcement personnel and prison data, which tend to frame prison populations as a singular unit and focus on data instead of people.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
15 July 2025
Noun
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Her various occupations, paid and unpaid, included teaching convicts at an area penitentiary and substitute-teaching in junior high.—
Inga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 June 2025
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At the beloved attraction in San Francisco Bay, visitors could scarcely believe Trump had suggested turning Alcatraz back into a penitentiary.—
Heather Knight,
New York Times,
19 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hoosegow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hoosegow. Accessed 25 Jul. 2025.
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