spinning-house

Definition

Noun (historical): - spinning-house refers to a correctional institution or workhouse, historically used to reform or detain prostitutes and other women deemed to be of loose morals, where they were often required to spin yarn or perform other manual labor as part of their rehabilitation.

Usage Examples

• (A historical institution for reforming women through forced labor.)
• (A place of confinement and punishment.)

Advanced Usage

• : to be officially sentenced to such an institution.
  • She was committed to the spinning-house after being convicted of vagrancy. (She was sent to the workhouse as punishment.)

Variants and Related Words

• Spinning (adj): relating to the act of spinning thread or yarn.
  • The spinning wheel was used for spinning wool. (The tool for making yarn.)
• House (n): a building for human habitation or a specific institution.
  • The poorhouse was another type of workhouse. (A similar institution for the poor.)

Synonyms

• Workhouse: a public institution for the poor where they were required to work.
• Bridewell: a historical prison or correctional house for petty offenders.
• Magdalen asylum: a similar institution for the reformation of prostitutes.

Related Idioms

• : to tell a long, fanciful story (idiomatic, not directly related to the spinning-house but sharing the concept of spinning).
  • He spun a yarn about his adventures at sea. (He told an elaborate, possibly untrue story.)