British Slang For Jail (14 Examples!)

Britain has some of the oldest and most notorious prisons in the world.

Its rich history involves a great many kings and other high and mighty folks imprisoning their political enemies and being imprisoned themselves.

Out of such a long history of imprisoning and prisons, a great deal of slang terms have arisen to describe prisons themselves.

Today, we’re going to look at a variety of these terms, both old and new.

In This Article

Slammer

First we have the “slammer,” one of the most well-known and commonly used British slang terms for jail.

This is perhaps more commonly used among the older generations now, and is definitely very regionally specific.

This isn’t quite ubiquitous in use, though everyone will certainly understand what you mean by “slammer”.

“He’s going to end up in the slammer if he carries on like this,” for example.

The term dates back to the early 1950s, though it’s not completely clear where it comes from.

It could simply come from the sense of “slamming” the door, of the prison or of the cell.

Other than that, we can’t say much for sure.

Sent down

Though not quite slang for jails themselves, one very common slang term you’ll hear in relation to jails in the north of England is “sent down”.

When someone is getting sent to prison, they are being “sent down”, or they have been “sent down”.

This is among the most common slang ways of saying someone is being sent to prison.

“My brother is getting sent down for stealing that car,” for example.

The term dates back to the 19^th Century, at least as early as 1841.

Courthouses would often have a holding cell in a basement or lower flower, which is where prisoners would be sent awaiting trial or sentence.

Thus, they get “sent down”.

The block

For those in prison, there are a variety of slang terms to refer to different levels of the prison itself.

One common slang term among prisoners for solitary confinement is “the block”.

This is where prisoners are sent for excessively violent or otherwise bad behavior.

Sometimes, this term may also be used for jails as a whole.

“He’s been in the block for the last week for fighting,” for example.

This is not to be confused with the older term “block” as in “chopping block”, where one would be executed.

There are many similar slang terms for solitary confinement in Britain, so it’s hard to know when this one first started being used.

Solitary confinement was first used in the 19^th Century, so slang terms like this probably started to arise at that time.

The box

Another common slang term for solitary confinement in British prisons is “the box”.

The sense is simply that the solitary cells are nothing more than a featureless box, with a single window for a bit of light. Indeed, it’s functionally the same as “the block”.

It no doubt arose around the same time as the block in the early days of solitary confinement when such cells largely did not even feature windows.

In that sense, it really was like being put inside a box.

Pompey

Though somewhat dated now, another common slang term for prisons in Britain is “Pompey”.

This is again mostly used in the north of England, and more common among older generations than the youth of today.

This is and was used both by inmates and outsiders alike to talk about prisons, indeed any kind of prison.

“We’re all going to end up in Pompey if we get caught,” for example.

The most likely origin of this term is the notorious prison ship the HMS Pompee, which was given to the British by French Royalists at the end of the 18^th Century.

This prison ship typically made port in Portsmouth, which is also known as Pompey.

This is an old and storied slang term for jail in Britain, then.

Nick

A very common British expression you’ll hear in TV and movies relating to arrests and jail is “nick”.

There are a few ways you can use this. It can be a stand in for the word “arrested”.

“You’re nicked, mate!” for example being the classic line.

But “in the nick” is another way of saying that you are in jail.

You might also say you’ve “been nicked”, though this typically just relates to being arrested.

“He’s in the nick for a few more years,” for example.

Though thought of as being quintessentially British today, the term “nick” in this sense actually originated in Australia.

The first written example we have comes from a Sydney slang dictionary from 1882.

Given that Australia was a British prison colony for a long time, it’s not surprising this term eventually made its way to Britain.

Chokey

Another common slang term for jails which is used both inside and outside of prisons is the “chokey”.

Though somewhat dated, this slang term is still definitely in use today by large parts of the population.

Again, even those who don’t use it themselves are likely to understand it well enough.

“They’ve sent Adam down to the chokey at last,” for example.

Interestingly, this term actually is Anglo-Indian in origin.

The Hindi word cauki means a shed or a lock-up, somewhere you might throw a belligerent drunk for the night to keep him out of trouble.

This was eventually anglicized in Britain to mean any jail by returning soldiers from the British Raj in India.

Glasshouse

Next we have “glasshouse”, which was originally slang for any Armed Forces jails.

Military prisons served a variety of functions, such as detaining prisoners of war, unlawful combatants or those whose freedom was thought to be a national security risk.

It could also be where soldiers found guilty of crimes would be held.

Though the term is not as common as it once was, it is still used and many will still understand it to mean a jail or military prison.

“The whole crew ended up in the glasshouse over that robbery,” for example.

One particular military prison was called Glasshouse, which eventually became slang for any military jail, which then again became slang for any jail at all.

This particular prison, the Aldershot military prison, featured a glazed roof, which is where the name came from.

Quod

Quod has a couple of meanings though they both relate directly to jail.

It either means time spent confined in prison, or the jail itself. In Britain it is most commonly used in the latter way, and particularly relates to the quadrangle of the court in a prison.

This is definitely more of an archaic term but one that is definitely still used in large parts of the country.

“I’ve got to spend time in the quod for what I’ve done,” for example.

The term comes from a simple shortening of the word “quadrangle”.

British prisons, at least in the past, tended to have an outdoor quadrangle where prisoners could go outside each day.

Our earliest written uses of the term “quod” date back to the middle of the 19^th Century when jails, as we know them today, were first being built.

Doing porridge

This one will probably sound a bit strange at first, but it will quickly start to make sense once you think about what people used to be fed in prisons.

Another common slang term for doing time in jail in Britain is “doing porridge,” though it’s certainly a bit more old fashioned.

That said, many older people will definitely understand what you mean by this. “He’s doing porridge again for that robbery,” for example.

The term originates from the fact that jails very often served porridge as a staple food.

It was cheap and filling and easy to make in very large quantities, making it perfect prison food.

This term was also further popularized by the iconic British prison comedy series, Porridge.

Her/his majesty’s pleasure

Another way of saying you’re being held in jail is to say you are “at her majesty’s pleasure”.

Of course, historically, this term will change depending on the period of time it’s used.

For more than the last half a century, it has been at “her majesty’s pleasure” because England had a Queen.

After Queen Elizabeth II’s passing, and the ascension of King Charles, it will now be “his majesty’s pleasure.”

The term is no doubt extremely old, as the English royalty has held prisoners since they first arrived in England from Normandy.

This term was perhaps most commonly used and popularized during the English Civil War, in which many were held prisoner of either the Royalists or the Parliamentarians.

Stir

As you’ve already seen, the 19^th Century was a ripe period for the invention of slang for jail.

Again, given that this is really when jails as we know them were first created in Britain, it’s not surprising.

Another such slang term which has survived to today is “stir”, which you’ll still hear in London and other parts of southern England.

“James is back in the stir again,” for example.

There are a couple of potential roots for this term.

Some think it derives from the Romani word stariben, meaning jail as well.

It may also come from the Old English word styr, which meant correction or punishment.

Most subscribe to the former theory, though it could well be a meshing of the two to some degree.

Can

Another very common and almost universal slang term for jail in Britain is the “can”.

While this has become more associated with U.S. slang than with British, it is certainly used in Britain today if only due to the propagation of American slang terms through movies and TV.

The young and old all use it today to some degree, or at the very least will understand what it means.

“Another year in the can for him, then,” for example.

This term also dates back to the late 19^th Century, and was most likely a simple reference to the fact that jail cells were small, dark, dingy, and often with metal doors and window bars—like a can.

This spread throughout the English speaking world in the 20^th Century, from the U.S. to Britain and Australia.

To an extent, in modern American slang it is actually less common to use “the can” to refer to jail than to refer to the bathroom.

In the clink

Finally we have “in the clink”, another common and historical slang phrase for jail or being sent to jail in Britain.

Again, this one is very old in its history and isn’t used as much as it once was, but nonetheless is used and understood in a lot of places.

It can be used in a few different ways. You might say you’ve been sent “to the clink”, or if someone asks after someone who is in jail you might say they are “in the clink.”

It’s mostly limited to England, though you can sometimes hear it in Wales or Scotland.

The Clink was another actual historical prison in Southwark in England, though it stopped operating at the end of the 18^th Century.

Indeed, there has been a prison there since the 9^th Century in some capacity.

It’s not quite clear where this specific nickname comes from, although it’s thought to be onomatopoeic, either based on the sound of clinking metal doors or prisoners’ chains.

Without doubt, the prisons in the U.K. are referred to by many different names, then.

Whether it’s based on an ancient and notorious prison or is simply a modern slang term in the quintessentially British style, there are many things you can call a prison in Britain.

More in British Slang

Founder - @PollyWebster

Polly Webster is the founder of Foreign Lingo and a seasoned traveler with a decade of exploration under her belt.

Over the past 10 years, she has journeyed to numerous countries around the globe, immersing herself in diverse cultures, traditions, and languages.

Drawing from her rich experiences, Polly now writes insightful articles about travel, languages, traditions, and cultures, sharing her unique perspectives and invaluable tips with her readers.

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