prison-bird
Definition
Noun: - A person who is a habitual criminal or who has been imprisoned repeatedly: "prison-bird" refers to an individual who has spent a significant amount of time in prison, often implying a cycle of incarceration and release. The term carries a negative connotation, suggesting a person who is accustomed to prison life or who frequently reoffends.
Usage Examples
- (A person who has been imprisoned many times.)
- (Someone who has become habituated to prison existence.)
Advanced Usage
- "to be a prison-bird": to be characterized by a pattern of repeated imprisonment.
- After his third conviction, he was labelled a prison-bird by the media. (The press described him as a habitual offender.)
Variants and Related Words
- Prison (n): a building where people are legally held as punishment for a crime.
- The prison was overcrowded with inmates. (The facility holding prisoners.)
- Bird (n, slang): a person, especially one considered in a particular way (e.g., "old bird").
- He's a tough old bird. (He is a resilient person.)
Synonyms
- Recidivist: a person who repeatedly relapses into criminal behavior, especially after punishment.
- Jailbird: a person who has been in prison, typically many times.
- Convict: a person found guilty of a crime and serving a prison sentence.
Related Idioms
- Do bird: (British slang) to serve a prison sentence.
- He did bird for ten years. (He spent ten years in prison.)
- A bird in a gilded cage: a person who is outwardly privileged but actually imprisoned or constrained. (Not directly synonymous, but thematically related to confinement.)
Phrasal Verbs
- Do time: to serve a prison sentence.
- He did time for robbery. (He was imprisoned.)
- Get out of prison: to be released after serving a sentence.
- She got out of prison last month. (She was freed.)