hoosegow

by **jonesthecurl** on Sat May 08, 2021 12:52 pm

Someone mentioned they didn't know what this meant.
I thought it was a common word.
Mrs thecurl had never heard it either.
How about you folks?

by **HitRed** on Sat May 08, 2021 1:08 pm

jail?

by **The ram** on Sat May 08, 2021 2:05 pm

Shouted be Scottish innkeepers at 11pm?

by **jonesthecurl** on Sat May 08, 2021 2:20 pm

The ram wrote:Shouted be Scottish innkeepers at 11pm?

"No that's 'Ain't ye got no hoose tay gow to?"

by **jonesthecurl** on Sat May 08, 2021 2:22 pm

HitRed wrote:jail?

Yes, I thought it was a common term. But maybe not.

by **HitRed** on Sat May 08, 2021 2:26 pm

jonesthecurl wrote:
HitRed wrote:jail?

Yes, I thought it was a common term. But maybe not.

That's the first time I ever saw it spelled. Only heard it in movies/TV.

by **riskllama** on Sat May 08, 2021 2:39 pm

by **jusplay4fun** on Sat May 08, 2021 7:53 pm

NOT EYE, matey

by **DoomYoshi** on Sun May 09, 2021 6:53 am

I've never come across it.

by **Dukasaur** on Sun May 09, 2021 7:43 am

It's an older word, and a rural word. I'm not young, but even for my generation it's not common. The younger and more urban someone is, the less likely they are to use it.

by **KoolBak** on Sun May 09, 2021 9:34 am

Heard it a lot...older movies, books, shows.

And actually looked it up :lol:

In Spanish, juzgado means "panel of judges, courtroom." The word is based on the Spanish past participle of juzgar, meaning "to judge," which itself was influenced by Latin judicare-a combination of jus, "right, law," and dicere, "to decide, say." When English speakers of the American West borrowed juzgado in the early 1900s, they recorded it the way they heard it: hoosegow. They also associated the word specifically with the jail that was usually in the same building as a courthouse. Today, hoosegow has become slang for any place of confinement for lawbreakers.

by **jusplay4fun** on Sun May 09, 2021 3:04 pm

jonesthecurl wrote:Someone mentioned they didn't know what this meant.
I thought it was a common word.
Mrs thecurl had never heard it either.
How about you folks?

Definition of hoosegow

US, informal + humorous
: JAIL
… ended the evening in the local hoosegow.
— Burton Bernstein
… treat your dogs and cats humanely or you might wind up in the hoosegow.
— Bill Hendrick

Did You Know?
In Spanish, juzgado means "panel of judges, courtroom." The word is based on the Spanish past participle of juzgar, meaning "to judge," which itself was influenced by Latin judicare-a combination of jus, "right, law," and dicere, "to decide, say." When English speakers of the American West borrowed juzgado in the early 1900s, they recorded it the way they heard it: hoosegow. They also associated the word specifically with the jail that was usually in the same building as a courthouse. Today, hoosegow has become slang for any place of confinement for lawbreakers.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hoosegow

by **jonesthecurl** on Sun May 09, 2021 3:47 pm

I wasn't particularly interested in a dictionary definition, I just wondered how many people knew it. I had thought it was commonly understood, but it appears to be less common than I'd thought.

by **jusplay4fun** on Sun May 09, 2021 4:08 pm

The Oxford Dictionary site has a graph of its usage over the years. That may interest youi.

by **jonesthecurl** on Sun May 09, 2021 5:16 pm

Thanks, I'll take a look when I get a sec.

by **ConfederateSS** on Sun May 09, 2021 5:18 pm

---------Really, no one who has claimed not to know what it is.....Has never seen, any Western ,movie or T.V.....Old..30s,---70s.or new ones made in the 1990---2021....remakes or not......Any country or mountain shows....Andy Griffith... Beverly Hillbillies,..or new ones like Like Big Sky...Come on.... Really never????......... O:)

ConfederateSS.out!(The Blue and Silver Rebellion)... O:)

......Sit Com shows like Jeff Foxworthy ,Reba,etc.....Why do you think most of all as far as T.V shows like Andy Griffith show or Big Sky would use such a term.....I wonder...

...Maybe all you see are Law officers etc..../ Or Jails.....I mean Hoosegows...

......My favorite term or phrase,...I have seen even in Nonwestern stuff...is...We'll head 'em off at the pass...Classic... 8-)

...

by **jusplay4fun** on Sun May 09, 2021 10:12 pm

ConfederateSS wrote:---------Really, no one who has claimed not to know what it is.....Has never seen, any Western ,movie or T.V.....Old..30s,---70s.or new ones made in the 1990---2021....remakes or not......Any country or mountain shows....Andy Griffith... Beverly Hillbillies,..or new ones like Like Big Sky...Come on.... Really never????......... ConfederateSS.out!(The Blue and Silver Rebellion)... ......Sit Com shows like Jeff Foxworthy ,Reba,etc.....Why do you think most of all as far as T.V shows like Andy Griffith show or Big Sky would use such a term.....I wonder... ...Maybe all you see are Law officers etc..../ Or Jails.....I mean Hoosegows... ......My favorite term or phrase,...I have seen even in Nonwestern stuff...is...We'll head 'em off at the pass...Classic... ...

We'll head 'em off at the pass.

I think this reflects the American (USA) fascination with the West and days of the Cowboy. That was part of the TV landscape in the 1950-late 60's. And WWII (WW2), too. to the same point.

I read things like The U. P. Trail by Zane Grey, too, as part of my fascination of the West. I did not read The Riders of the Purple Sage. I may get to that, after I read The Tolkien Trilogy: The Lord of the Rings.