pokey

[ poh-kee ]

noun

, Slang.

, plural pok·eys.

1. Usually the pokey. a jail:

   They put him in the pokey for carrying a concealed weapon.

Word History and Origins

Origin of pokey¹

First recorded in 1915–20; origin uncertain; possibly a variant of pogey ( def )

Example Sentences

Give me your losers and laggards, your pokey puppies who limbo right under rock-bottom expectations and then have to go home and lie down.

From New York Times

One person’s methodical structuring is what another might deem pokey or too much effort for a piece of entertainment.

From Salon

She’s a big personality, chatty, colorfully dressed, a ray of sunshine, easily distracted, insanely friendly; she offers a killer a cookie even as he’s being packed off to the pokey.

From Los Angeles Times

But let’s get real: This giant adult toy is going to be constructed one way or another, whether at reasonable speed or in pokey chug-chug fashion.

From Los Angeles Times

Family and adult-only fun include roller disco night and open skate hours with the hokey pokey, limbo and partner skate events.

From Seattle Times

More About Pokey

What does pokey mean?

Pokey is a slang term for jail. It’s typically used with the article the, as in Sal got arrested and spent a night in the pokey. 

Pokey can also be used to describe someone or something that moves slowly. This sense of word is intended to be negative or insulting.

Less commonly, it can be used as an adjective meaning small and cramped, as in There’s no way we can have a party in this pokey little apartment. 

Pokey can also be spelled poky.

Example: If it were up to me, all these pokey drivers would spend a night in the pokey—the pokier the cell the better.

Where does pokey come from?

The first records of the word pokey as an adjective come from the 1800s. It uses the same sense of the word poke that’s seen in the noun slowpoke, referring to a person who moves slowly, as well as the verb phrase poke along, as in If we keep poking along on this project, we’re never going to make any progress. 

The origin of the word pokey as a slang term for jail isn’t certain, but it might be based on the word pogey, referring to a type of institution for housing poor people. In this sense, pokey can refer to a jail or a prison: the coppers can send you to the pokey for the night or the judge can lock you up in the pokey for life. Either way, the word sounds a bit old-timey and is typically used to be funny. It’s never used in a serious context. Similar synonyms are slammer, clink, can, joint—all of which are also usually used with the.

When we describe someone as pokey to mean they’re moving slowly, it’s not a nice thing to say. It’s most often applied to drivers who we think are driving too slow.

Unrelatedly, pokey shows up in the term hokey-pokey. This most commonly refers to a type of dance, but it can also mean “trickery,” and in fact it is a variation of the term hocus-pocus.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to pokey?

• poky (alternate spelling)
• pokeys (plural)
• pokies (alternate plural)
• pokily (adverb)
• pokiness (noun)
• pokier (comparative adjective)
• pokiest (superlative adjective)

What are some synonyms for pokey?

• slammer
• clink
• can
• joint
• slow
• plodding
• cramped

What are some words that share a root or word element with pokey? 

• poke
• slowpoke

What are some words that often get used in discussing pokey?

• throw
• send
• arrest
• bail
• driver
• traffic

How is pokey used in real life?

In all of its senses, pokey is used informally, often to be humorous.

Now a fan behind the Wolves penalty box dumped stuff on our players and then held his hands up and out like, "What you gonna do?"

Well, what we're gonna do is have security take your buttocks to the pokey. Enjoy, genius.#CHIvsGR

— Chicago Wolves (@Chicago_Wolves) April 24, 2019

Be careful! Spent a night in the pokey there for speeding when I first learned to drive.Napoleonic Code or somesuch.

— Michael Napolitano (@ocalamike) March 19, 2017

Had to pray twice for thinking unkind things about pokey drivers & merge-cheaters on the way to the airport this am…

— Lisa Harper (@lisadharper) November 9, 2011

 

 

Try using pokey!

Does the following sentence contain an appropriate use of the word pokey? 

The judge is expected to announce a verdict today in the triple homicide trial, and the defendant faces life in the pokey.