L.A. SPEAK : L.A. County Jail Jargon

all day: n. a life sentence. “I can’t believe it! Nobody gets all day for a drive-by anymore!”

catching the chain: v. leaving County Jail for a state penitentiary.

criminally challenged: adj. the politically correct term for inmates/convicts. SENTENCE?

dump truck: n. defense attorney who, in the inmate’s opinion, did a lousy job. “My attorney is such a dump truck, that bells ring when he backs up.”

green room: n. the gas chamber at San Quentin.

gray goose: n. a bus used to transport inmates from county jails to the state prisons. “I can’t wait to catch the grey goose and get out of this county dump.”

house: n. cell. “It’s almost 3 o’clock, I’d better clean my house before chow.”

pruno: n. inmate-manufactured alcohol.

racking the gate: v. opening the cell doors.

toss up: n. a cell search.

Thomas Wolfe: n. a lifer. from “You Can’t Go Home Again.”