The Clink
Today I encountered the phrase "paw camp" used to describe a prison. And based on the search results, I find "paw camp" far superior to the word choice of my colleague who quite infelicitously referred to jail as "the pokey."
posted by Stanley at 00:43
6 Comments:
No love for "the hoosegow"?
Also: Google doesn't seem to have much knowledge of this euphemism, which I find surprising. Where'dja hear it?
"hoosegow"? I had never heard that one, so thanks.
I heard "paw camp" (read it, technically) from someone in the federal hoosegow.
What I should've explained in the post but didn't (because I rushed though it) was, I liked it as a euphemism because (a) it was new to me and (b) it seemed to suggest that jail was like a camp for little kids, which I took to be a dig, suggesting they treated grown men like little kids, minus the fun part.
I'm surprised you know "pokey" but not "hoosegow", I think the two terms come from roughly the same period and area. (Hunch only.)
You're right about "paw camp", also it goes nicely with the notion of being "sent up the river".
I'm also surprised Stanley wasn't familiar with "hoosegow," as it comes from Spanish juzgado.
Yo no sabía, guey. That's really interesting, though. And makes a lot of sense (pronunciation-wise).
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