American Slang For Jail (14 Examples!)

Jails are, for better or worse, a big part of American civilization.

The American prison population is one of the highest of any country in the world.

They have been entrenched into American society for centuries, and so for many people jails have played a role in their lives in America.

With this, naturally, comes a great deal of slang terms for describing jails, so today we’re going to take a broad view of American slang terms for jail, from the most common to the most obscure.

Let’s dive into it.

The Clink

Starting off we have the “clink”, a common slang term in the U.S. for prisons and jails of any kind.

It is not today as common as it once was, but you’ll certainly still hear this one used from time to time.

It is mostly restricted to the older generations and is certainly derived from a time in the past. “Jail” and “prison” are mostly used interchangeably, though they do refer to different things in legal terms—though generally not in common parlance.

“He’s heading to the clink for drink driving,” for example.

It’s thought that this slang term is onomatopoeic in origin, deriving from the sound that metal makes when prison doors were slammed, chained, or bolted.

Originally, this term was a British slang term that spread to the U.S. during the 20^th Century.

Jug

Next we have “jug”, another common slang term for prisons and jails in the U.S.

This one, again, is by no means universal, but you will certainly still hear it from time to time and among the right generations.

Again, it can refer to both prison and jail, since most people do not make a distinction between these two things in their minds.

“He’s being sent to the jug again,” for example.

It’s not entirely clear where this term comes from, though most think it relates to the older word jugg, which referred to an iron collar that would be fastened around a criminal’s neck.

This was attested from 1911, so it probably predated that by at least a few years.

Lockup

Another common and fairly self-explanatory slang term for jail in the U.S. is “lockup”.

In standard terms, this may refer to a few different things and is often simply what the police refer to as the small cells they have in the station for housing people who are not being convicted of a crime but must in any case spend the night in the police station.

On the other hand, the general public also uses it as a general slang term for jails and prisons.

“I’m going to end up in lockup with this lawyer,” for example.

As mentioned, the origin of this term is fairly self-explanatory—you are put into a room and “locked up” so as not to escape.

This term has been in use since at least the 19^th Century.

Roundhouse

Roundhouse was a common name for jails in Britain in the past, and today it lives on in American slang as a general slang term for jails.

Again, this one is far from the most common slang term in the country, but in the right places and among the right people you may well hear this one used from time to time.

As mentioned, it’s more of a historical term, and was used a great deal more at one time than it is today.

“They’ll send you to the roundhouse for what you’ve done,” for example.

As mentioned, a roundhouse was a name for a certain kind of prison in Britain in the 19^th Century, such as the famous Barmouth Round House.

These jails were mostly used rather like a lockup—it was the place where you would throw drunkards or people that disturbed the peace.

The Can

One of the more common American slang terms for prison which you’ll hear widely used today is “the can”.

This can also refer to a bathroom, but it should be fairly clear from context which meaning is meant!

This one can refer both to large-scale, state penitentiaries where people serve out their sentences, but it can also refer to lockups where drunks are thrown for the night, or the places where people await sentencing.

“He’s been in the can for years,” for example.

The term is first attested in 1912, so again it likely predates this by some time in vernacular.

The idea is simply that jails involve a lot of metal, and so are like a tin can in the sense that they are small, you’re held inside and can’t get out—like food in a can!

The Tower

Another one which was at one time more common in Britain than in the U.S., next we have “the tower”.

Today, this one again is somewhat archaic in the U.S., but it is still widely used to some extent.

In the right places and among the older generations, you may still hear this one used.

That said, it’s also likely to be used in a somewhat tongue-in-cheek way, invoking the fairy tale tower prison of European folklore. “I won’t go back to the tower!” for example.

The term derives simply from the famous Tower of London, which has acted as a prison at many different points in its long history.

Farm

A somewhat common slang term you’ll hear for jail in the U.S. is “farm”.

“Prison farm” is a fairly old concept but which has not entirely fallen out of use, but to some extent the term “farm is simply used to refer to any prison.

Prison farms involve putting prisoners to work on farms, ostensibly because there has for some time been an idea that working out on a farm away from a busy city is a great way to rehabilitate people.

There’s not much evidence for this, and some would simply refer to it as slave labor.

“Apparently he’s being sent to a farm upstate,” for example.

This is a 19^th Century concept, and since then the term has been generally used as slang for farms—although this really took hold over the course of the 20^th Century when these farms became more and more common and thus synonymous with jails as a whole.

Attica

Attica is again a somewhat common slang term for prison in the U.S. with a very specific history.

It is used as a general slang term for a prison though the name originally referred to a specific prison in New York.

Again, you may have to go somewhat far to hear this term used, though it is common enough in media that most Americans still have some understanding of what it means.

“It’s a real Attica in that jail,” for example.

As mentioned, Attica is a state prison in the state of New York, and was made famous by what became known as the Attica Prison Riot of 1971, in which almost 40 people died—29 inmates and ten prison guards.

This remains the worst fatality rate for a prison uprising in the U.S., so it is often taught about in schools.

Folsom

Without doubt one of the most famous and well-known prisons in the U.S. is Folsom Prison, and so unsurprisingly the term has come to be used as a slang term for jail in general.

Once again, it is not as though everyone uses this term all the time—it’s restricted more to older generations but again, Folsom Prison is more than famous enough that most young Americans will also understand what this means. “I’ll be sent to Folsom at this rate,” for example.

Folsom Prison is again a real prison in the U.S., specifically in the state of California.

It was made famous in part by the fact that Johnny Cash performed there twice for the prisoners, and recorded and released as a live album.

One song from the album “Folsom Prison Blues”, became one of Cash’s most well-known songs.

Glasshouse

A glasshouse is something rather more specific, being a military prison where soldiers would be sent after being court-martialled.

So, you’re less likely to hear this one used by the general public and certainly not likely to be used in ordinary jails but purely in military ones.

That said, sometimes it is used in a more general sense by certain parts of the country.

“He got sent to the glasshouse for insubordination,” for example.

This term also originated in Britain, where the Aldershot military prison had a glazed roof—it simply caught on as a common term for all military prisons after this time.

Juvie

This one is very broadly used across the country, and specifically refers to juvenile detention centers.

This is where young offenders are sent if they are too young to go to a state prison or jail.

This one is universal, and is almost certain to be understood by just about everyone who hears it in the U.S. Such centers are very common across the U.S., and many people are very well acquainted with them.

“Do you want to go to juvie? Because you will if you keep breaking the law,” for example.

Naturally, the term is simply a shortening of the term “juvenile hall”, which is how these detention centers are generally referred to.

This shortening is first recorded in 1941.

Pen

A much more common one that you’ll hear broadly used today is “pen”.

There are many different kinds of jail in the U.S.—juvenile hall, holding jails for those awaiting trial, and of course large scale state penitentiaries—this is where most offenders serve the majority of their sentences.

When people use the term “pen,” they are specifically referring to a state penitentiary.

“I won’t be doing my sentence here, it will be at the state pen,” for example.

Again, this one is simply a shortening of the word “penitentiary”.

It is very old, having been first attested in 1884 in the sense of a penitentiary.

It may be even older than that, though, in the sense of an animal pen.

Solitary

A more specific slang term used in prison is “solitary”.

This is a slang term for solitary confinement, which is where prisoners are put if they are behaving badly during their time in jail.

For example, if they are getting into fights or are otherwise presenting a danger to other prisoners.

“Don’t put me in solitary, it drives me insane!” for example.

Solitary confinement has been in use since at least the 18^th Century, and was first used in America in what were then various European colonies.

It came to be called “solitary” for short in the 19^th Century, as best we can tell.

Hole

Finally, we have another very common slang term for jail in America—the hole.

This one is very widely used and virtually universally understood, being one of the most common and simple slang terms for jails in America.

The idea is simply that a jail is as unpleasant as being in a hole, or that a hole is somewhere you can’t get out of once you’re in there.

“Don’t send me to the hole again, please,” for example.

The “hole” is also sometimes used specifically as slang for solitary confinement, and this is where the term originated in the 19^th Century.

So, there are many different slang terms for describing different kinds of prisons and different aspects of being in prison.

American slang is rich and colorful when it comes to jails and prisons, and so there are words for just about anything related to prison—whether these are used by prisoners themselves or the general population.

More in American Slang

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• American Slang For Car
• American Slang For Cigarette
• American Slang For Coffee
• American Slang For Diarrhea
• American Slang For Drunk
• American Slang For Jail
• American Slang For Money
• American Slang For No
• American Slang For Toilet
• American Slang For Yes