the big house

the big house

slang A state or federal prison. He spent 10 years in the big house for money laundering. You're going to end up in the big house if you don't get out of that gang soon.
See also: big, house
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

the big house

n. a state or federal penitentiary. Two years in the big house is like two years in a custom-made hell.
See also: big, house
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • make big
  • make it big
  • be (not) big on (something)
  • be in eclipse
  • eclipse
  • big on
  • big on (something)
  • do something in a big/small way
  • in a big way
  • big C
References in periodicals archive
Me and Mama and Howard stayed in the Big House, until we didn't.
"TV series like The Tenements and The Big House are reaching out and filling that need, that's the reason why the response to the The Tenements was so great, people feel it's about them, their lives, they can relate to it."
As a functioning institution, the big house had a definite life span.
While much of what the author has uncovered tends to confirm the hypotheses of other scholars working in the field of landlord-tenant relations and the history of the big house in Ireland (particularly the first three chapters), Purdue's study is most valuable where she compares the circumstances of northern landlords post-1922 with those of their southern counterparts.
And they still marvel at the kitchens, gyms, infirmaries and other (real or imagined) buildings within the compound of the Big House.
The Big House Red blends as many as 20 different varieties from as many as 40 different lots--among them Grenache, Syrah and Petite Syrah.
Sharpen your child's knowledge this summer with the big house of fun
'I'm taking you to the big house Is everyone on board?
What do residents of the big house have that residents of the small house lack?--
Dawn in the Big House is a collection of poems about life inside prison, written by an inmate of one of California's penitentiaries (he has been incarcerated for various drug-related property crimes, and has no history of violent offenses).
Mike Armour netted a brace for the Big House. SA Barbarians took the points from Trafalgar Rangers thanks to strikes from David Melling and Paul Cookhammer.
On this day of bowl games, I am mindful that, as an undergraduate, I spent many Saturdays in the fall as one of 108,000+ fans who packed The Big House in Ann Arbor--the football stadium of The University of Michigan.
Soon the master's drunken son would be staggering down from the big house, velvet rope in hand, looking for the slave whose manhood matched the size of that rope.
Drew Schmidt, brewmaster at the Big House since it opened in 1996, will now work for Brown's Brewing Co.
Charles and his wife lived on property referred to as Hundred Acres in a home called the Big House. Bar and his wife also lived on Hundred Acres in the Little House, taking care of Charles, Jo and the land.