Words for Jail

Most people will never spend a single night of their life in jail, yet the English language has invented many words that refer to it. Based on the hints, can you guess these synonyms for jail?
Some of these words are American slang. We have a lot of crime. Deal with it.
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: September 25, 2020
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First submittedSeptember 25, 2020
Times taken11,607
Average score52.9%
Rating3.63
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Hint
Answer
Like a jail, but usually longer term
Prison
Another word for the above, "pen" for short
Penitentiary
A dark underground jail often found in a castle
Dungeon
Jail for animals
Pound
Jail on a ship
Brig
Remote Siberian outpost for Soviet detainees
Gulag
An enclosure protected by a wall of wooden posts. Or, a military jail.
Stockade
Old-fashioned British spelling of "jail"
Gaol
A cylindrical aluminum container
Can
Where misbehaving students have to stay after school
Detention
The sound of jail doors closing
Clink
Person who closes a door heavily
Slammer
Your body has an estimated 37.2 trillion of them
Cell
Back in the day, smoking one of these could land you inside
Joint
They're not saying "who's cow"
Hoosegow
Like someone with a long index finger or maybe a porcupine
Pokey
Jail with 4 sides, not necessarily at right angles (British or Australian)
Quod
+9
Level 84
Sep 25, 2020
I've also heard it referred to as "the big house." (guess you were going for single-word alternatives)

The "long index finger/porcupine" clue was....meh. Would "Gumby's pal" have been too obscure or too much of a giveaway?

+4
Level 84
Sep 26, 2020
I wasn't crazy about the 'pokey' clue either. As for "Gumby's pal," I think that it would be a give-away for folks of my vintage, but quite obscure for the younger set. May be too obscure for non-Americans as well...
+3
Level 68
Sep 27, 2020
As well as "the big house", I was surprised that internment camp (or concentration camp) wasn't here.

P.S. As someone born in the 1990s in the UK - never heard of Gumby or his pal.

+1
Level 75
Nov 19, 2020
Another thumbs down for the pokey clue. A better clue - describe my computer.
+1
Level 51
Dec 12, 2020
Maybe "an enemy from the Super Mario series?"

Might not be universal enough tho

+5
Level 78
Sep 26, 2020
By the way, Clink comes from a very old jail in London's South Bank area. Its now a museum and well worth a visit..
+4
Level 82
Sep 26, 2020
Why so aggressive? I thought it would be obvious that a list of 17 synonyms includes some slang.
+4
Level 72
Sep 26, 2020
I had no idea what the peripenultimate question was all about. Having seen the answer, ehhh, I still don’t know. Must be an American thing. Google here I come.
+9
Level 60
Sep 26, 2020
Being British have never heard of Hoosegow, also have not heard of quod either?
+4
Level 88
Sep 26, 2020
I thought perhaps that rather than ‘quod' it should have been ‘quad’—short for ‘quadrangle’.
+1
Level 66
Nov 6, 2020
I tried quad just because of the 4 sides (and it worked), but I've never heard of quod.
+1
Level 56
Nov 9, 2020
I've come across being 'in quod', but I think it's very old-fashioned. Certainly more old-fashioned than gaol. Makes me think of Dickens or Billy Bunter or something.
+7
Level 87
Sep 26, 2020
For animal jail, I thought "cage" (which would be an appropriate answer to this quiz), and tried "kennel" before I found the right answer.
+9
Level 86
Sep 29, 2020
I tried "zoo".
+3
Level 75
Nov 19, 2020
I tried both cage and zoo then gave up.
+1
Level 62
Mar 20, 2024
yeah I tried 'zoo' as well

I don't know what made me think that

+1
Level 46
Sep 26, 2020
its 37.2 trillion cells not 3.72
+2
Level ∞
Sep 27, 2020
Fixed!
+2
Level 75
Nov 19, 2020
Last time I counted I only had 37.1 trillion. I must be missing a few in the brain.
+4
Level 68
Sep 27, 2020
A pound isn't a "jail for animals", it's a place of refuge. Hence its more formal name - "animal shelter".
+3
Level 81
Nov 7, 2020
I tried zoo but no dice
+2
Level 74
Feb 7, 2021
I tried zoo too, and cage. I'm unclear whether pound is included in the quiz because it is slang for human jail, or is here because the quiz maker wanted to include a jail for animals in the quiz. If it's the latter, please accept cage and zoo, as they are also places of confinement for animals.
+1
Level 74
Feb 7, 2021
Oh, and if I recall correctly, zoo is also slang for human jail :)
+2
Level 43
Sep 27, 2020
For 12 I put 'idiot'
+4
Level 80
Sep 28, 2020
You're missing quite a few obvious ones: chokey, porridge, stir, time, lockup, cooler.
+1
Level 64
Sep 28, 2020
Aww, I was so close with "clank."
+1
Level 76
Sep 30, 2020
I tried "Klink". Not sure why I thought it was spelt with a K
+1
Level 43
Nov 8, 2020
pokemon?
+2
Level 66
Nov 6, 2020
I'm Australian and I've never heard of 'quod' before. Classic Australian slang is 'clink'. Another term used here is 'inside'; as in "I've been inside", "I was inside for 8 months", or "I've spent time inside".
+1
Level 69
Nov 6, 2020
Another Aussie here - it's supposed to be Quad (short for quadrangle), but it really refers to the yard of the gaol, not the gaol itself.

Used more to refer to school quads where assemblies etc take place.

+1
Level 60
Nov 6, 2020
Shouldn't Old-fashioned British spelling of "jail" be "Gel"?
+3
Level 74
Nov 6, 2020
I knew it was Hoosegow, but I missed the E - and when I googled Hoosgow, it came up. Possible alternative answer?
+1
Level 72
Nov 6, 2020
I tried hoosgow and housgow. I also used google to get the correct spelling.
+1
Level 48
Nov 6, 2020
How did I not get prison? It's the most obvious one >.
+2
Level 60
Nov 6, 2020
Two issues. It's 'quad', not 'quod'. And the 'clink' of course refers to the sound of the turning of a key, not a door slamming!
+2
Level 56
Nov 9, 2020
It is quod, actually - quad is something different.

www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/quod

+1
Level 50
Nov 6, 2020
I think you should do concentration camps as an answer. They seem to fit the description of a jail pretty well.
+1
Level 58
Nov 6, 2020
but someone in there hasn't done a crime or been accused of a crime, so they aren't being punished or rehabilitated. Well, maybe they are but not for wrongdoing
+1
Level 74
Feb 7, 2021
Not true. Historically and currently there are many examples where people accused of crimes and/or declared as criminal are imprisoned in concentration camps. By @Finnisme's definition, "detention" would not be included as many there have not been formally convicted or even charged. Concentration camps should be included, regardless of their notoriety.
+1
Level 53
Nov 6, 2020
Someone had alot of time to think in prison.
+1
Level 65
Nov 6, 2020
Nice one QM Thanks. Couldn't think of anything for the animal clue. Pound isn't a word we use for that in the UK, well hardly anyone does. Should have got it though!
+1
Level 60
Nov 6, 2020
Being British, I missed quod. Never heard jail called quod, or quad. I would suggest changing that one.
+1
Level 65
Nov 6, 2020
Too many obscure ones included. But "pig pen" is a common one I've heard
+1
Level 31
Nov 6, 2020
Never heard of a prison ship being called a 'brig' personally, 'Hulk' is a very common name for a prison ship should be accepted
+3
Level 79
Nov 7, 2020
a hulk is a ship that is a jail rather than a jail on a ship.
+1
Level 74
Feb 7, 2021
But 'hulk' would be great to include!
+1
Level 67
Nov 10, 2020
Never hear of quad and WTF is hoosgow?
+1
Level 75
Nov 19, 2020
I'd heard of it but I looked up its origin and it's from the Spanish word juzgao, meaning tribunal or court. https://www.etymonline.com/word/hoosegow
+2
Level 57
Nov 30, 2020
If you did Gulag, why not add Ghetto?
+1
Level 74
Feb 7, 2021
Interesting point. I would tend to agree with you that there is a case to be for including ghetto.
+1
Level 74
Feb 7, 2021
Very interesting quiz, thank you! I always thought stockade came from the place you keep your stock (e.g animals, not Gamestop).
+1
Level 57
Jun 18, 2021
America likes to call their jails "Correctional Facilities"
+1
Level 61
Jun 28, 2023
I only got 8/17 on this quiz but my uncle got an easy 100%