Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hoosegow Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park Carved from granite cliffs overlooking the Colorado River, Yuma Prison was the Old West’s most notorious hoosegow, garnering a fearsome reputation. Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 1 Jan. 2025 In prison, there are Keene’s encounters with a real-life mob boss and a manipulative guard to add tension, and just enough mayhem to remind you that this is no ordinary hoosegow. Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2022 Her ex — still in the hoosegow in Los Angeles — was tried and sentenced to a two-year stretch at San Quentin. Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2022 From 1868 to 1890, legend says Wickenburg scofflaws were chained to a mesquite tree that served as the town hoosegow. Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 28 Nov. 2020 Most famously, in 1968 Johnny Cash serenaded state inmates at the max-security Folsom Prison in California, later turning the hoosegow act into a live album titled At Folsom Prison. Keri Blakinger, Houston Chronicle, 15 Nov. 2019 Carved from a granite cliff overlooking the Colorado River, this was America’s most notorious 19th century hoosegow. Roger Naylor, azcentral, 4 Oct. 2019 And Blankenship has charged that Manchin, who was governor at the time of the mine explosion, conspired with Barack Obama (not a popular figure in West Virginia) to send him to the hoosegow. Ed Kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, 20 Mar. 2018 And worse yet from the governor’s point of view, the prosecutor with jurisdiction over these matters is the same one trying to send him to the hoosegow for the privacy and blackmail charge, St. Louis circuit attorney Kim Gardner. Ed Kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, 17 Apr. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hoosegow
Noun
  • However, on March 27, a paperwork error allowed Guzman to walk out of the Clayton County jail a free man.
    Peter D'Abrosca, FOXNews.com, 10 Apr. 2025
  • In the photo, Sada is dressed in an orange jail uniform while his expression consists of wide eyes and a stiff grin.
    Regina Cho, VIBE.com, 9 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • His lawyers said Mahdi's original attorneys put on a shallow case trying to spare his life that didn't call on relatives, teachers or others who knew him and ignored the impact of months spent in solitary confinement in prison as a teen.
    CBS News, CBS News, 11 Apr. 2025
  • Alexander Smirnov was sentenced to six years in prison in January after pleading guilty to lying to his FBI handler about the Biden family's ties to a Ukrainian energy company -- in addition to a series of unrelated tax fraud charges.
    Alexander Mallin, ABC News, 11 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Barnes, 67, was convicted and sentenced to 21 years in a Russian penitentiary in February 2024.
    Tanya Stukalova, ABC News, 18 Apr. 2025
  • The first penitentiaries weren’t built until the late 1700s, so more extreme sentences were deemed necessary to prevent discord.
    Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 29 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Hoosegow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hoosegow. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.

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