pokey
/ˈpəʊki
/noun (usually the pokey) informal, chiefly North American
Prison: 25 years in the pokey...
- Such is life in the big house, the joint, or the pokey.
- Determined not to be ‘treated like a piece of bookstore trade,’ one of these drama boys almost turns a semi-innocent trip to the sauna into in a trip to the pokey for one of them.
- It seemed a laughable charge, but the judge was upset, saying Emery was arrogant and flouting the law - which he clearly was - and gave him 92 days in the pokey.
Origin
Early 20th century: alteration of pogey (an early sense being 'hostel for the needy'), perhaps influenced by poky.